Gurgaon: One lakh cars have been dispatched to different parts of the country from Maruti’s Manesar plant through an in-plant railway siding during the last nine months.In the process, it is estimated to have saved emissions of 16,800 metric tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide). Earlier, the cars manufactured at the plant were dispatched across the country through trucks.A railway siding is a short, auxiliary track connected to a main line, used for loading/unloading freight. From June 2025, when the railway track reached the car manufacturing plant and the railway started operation, the cars from Gurgaon are being dispatched through train.Maruti Suzuki India Limited managing director & CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said, “This initiative reinforces our commitment to reduce our carbon footprint in vehicle dispatches while easing overall road congestion. At full capacity, the Manesar siding has the capability to dispatch 450,000 units annually.”Spread over 46 acres inside the Maruti Suzuki Manesar facility, the railway siding features a fully electrified corridor having four full-length tracks for rakes and one track for engine escape. The siding also includes a two-floor station building, a dedicated pathway for guards and drivers along the tracks, advanced electronic train interlocking and more.The Manesar railway siding, registered under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, has been developed as part of the 126 km Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) running from Sonipat to Palwal in Haryana.Several popular Maruti Suzuki models — such as Alto, WagonR, Brezza, Dzire, Ertiga, Celerio, XL6, Eeco, Super Carry, etc. — manufactured at the company’s Gurgaon and Manesar facilities have been dispatched from the siding through more than 500 rakes since it commenced operations.The Manesar railway siding is India’s largest automobile in-plant railway facility and the second PM GatiShakti in-plant terminal for both the auto industry and the company, after the Gujarat railway siding. Through this in-plant railway siding, the company is servicing 380 cities from 17 hubs via a dedicated hub-and-spoke model.The project has been executed by a joint venture company called Haryana Orbital Rail Corporation Ltd (HORCL). Under the joint venture, Maruti Suzuki has committed to invest Rs 325 crore in developing HORC. Additionally, Maruti Suzuki has invested about Rs 127 crore towards internal yard development. Maruti Suzuki’s overall total investment is about Rs 452 crore.Takeuchi added, “In CY 2025, the company set a record by dispatching over 5.85 lakh vehicles through railways. Interestingly, in the past decade, our share of rail mode in outbound logistics has grown exponentially, from 5% in 2016 to 26% in 2025. Going forward, we aim to scale up rail-based vehicle dispatches from the current 26% to 35% by FY 2030-31, in line with our commitment to build efficient and sustainable logistics and contribute to India’s net-zero ambition.”
