Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated India’s largest automobile in-plant railway siding at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar facility in Haryana. The new terminal is part of the Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (MMCT) scheme and is aimed at boosting car transport via Indian Railways. Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Maruti Suzuki’s MD & CEO Hisashi Takeuchi were present at the event.
Major Step for Vehicle Transportation by Rail
The Manesar terminal, built over 45 acres, will enable the dispatch of up to 4.5 lakh vehicles annually. It is Maruti Suzuki’s second in-plant rail siding and forms a part of the growing MMCT network. The direct loading system will eliminate the need to transport vehicles by road to nearby stations, helping reduce an estimated 65,000 truck trips every year.
Linked to Patli via Dedicated Rail Line
The facility is connected to Patli railway station through a 10 km dedicated line developed as part of the 121.7 km Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC). Built at a cost of ₹800 crore, most of the funding came from Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (HRIDC), a joint venture between the Haryana government and the Ministry of Railways.
Logistics Reforms and Increased Rail Share
Vaishnaw highlighted that since 2021, 108 MMCTs have been developed across India to modernize rail logistics. The Rail Coefficient for car transport has jumped from 1.2% in 2013–14 to 20.6% in 2024–25, with over 10.4 lakh cars transported by rail out of 50.6 lakh produced. Maruti Suzuki alone accounts for nearly half of that volume.
