On tracks: How Maruti Suzuki is shifting to railways for its car dispatches

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd plans to raise the share of its vehicle dispatches transported by rail to 35% by FY 2030-31, up from 26.5% in FY 2025-26, as it expands its dedicated rail infrastructure with a new in-plant railway siding at its Kharkhoda manufacturing facility in Haryana.

The automaker said it has also crossed a milestone of 1 million cumulative vehicle dispatches through its in-plant railway sidings at Hansalpur, Gujarat, and Manesar, Haryana.

Around 7.9 lakh vehicles were dispatched via the Gujarat railway siding while the Manesar railway siding contributed to around 2.1 lakh vehicles.

The milestone was achieved in just three years and five months since operations commenced at the Gujarat railway siding in March 2023 and the Manesar railway siding in June 2025. Maruti Suzuki is the first and only passenger vehicle OEM in India to have in-plant railway sidings at its manufacturing facilities at Hansalpur and Manesar.

Developed under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, the shift of vehicle transportation from road to rail through these dedicated in-plant facilities has helped avoid emissions, while reducing fuel consumption and easing overall road congestion, the company said.

An in-plant railway siding is a dedicated rail terminal built inside a manufacturing facility that allows vehicles or goods to be loaded after production onto trains within the plant itself, eliminating truck usage for transportation to the nearest railway station.

“With our Gujarat and Manesar in-plant railway sidings contributing to 70% of total rail-based dispatches in the current fiscal, we are making strong progress in scaling up rail-based vehicle transportation,” said Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki.

“Our share of rail-based vehicle dispatches has grown from 5% in FY15 to 26.5% in FY26. Our mid-term goal is to increase rail-based vehicle dispatches to 35% by FY31 through continued investment in rail infrastructure, including an in-plant siding at our new Kharkhoda facility,” Takeuchi said, adding that this will improve the efficiency of our sustainable logistics network and support India’s Net Zero ambitions.

Maruti Suzuki has cumulatively dispatched over 3.3 million vehicles via rail since FY15. Out of this, 1 million is through the company’s in-plant railway sidings in Gujarat and Manesar, while the remaining rail-based dispatches were undertaken using loading terminals located outside the manufacturing facilities.

The automaker’s vehicle dispatches via rail crossed the 3 lakh vehicles mark in the current fiscal year till August 31.