The country’s biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, to transmit
one-third of its production by rail have gotten fixed as Haryana State
Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corp. Ltd (HSIIDC) hasn’t capable to obtain
the land needed to put down dedicated tracks from Patli station in Manesar to
the company’s plant 18km away.
The compact, intense on dropping its trust on road transport as output is
set to rise to three million units a year in the next three-four years, is
pushing Indian Railways to set up an option. Besides saving on expenses, wear
and tear, transporting vehicles by rail divides the transit time.
Maruti Suzuki official said that the
Maruti alone will be developing three million automobiles by 2015-16 and all
these automobiles cannot go by road. So a practical option is required.
M.M. Singh, chief operating officer
(production) at Maruti Suzuki said that besides ground achievement problems,
there is also a question on whether the project should be dedicated wholly to
Maruti or be thrown open to other companies. Singh also heads a team of professionals
from the automobile industry looking for to increase teamwork with the railways.
“Initially, the plan was to get the railway line to Manesar as we plan to move
35% of our total production through (the) railways,” he said.
Maruti, which has industrial unit in
Gurgaon and nearby Manesar, now transfers 5% of its production by rail. The quantity
of cars that it sends by rail is controlled by the lack of services.
