After Ferrying Cars Through Inland Waterways, Maruti Suzuki Eyes Next Possibility

Maruti Suzuki recently created a landmark by shipping 24 cars successfully through the inland waterways in India. Now, the carmaker has teamed up with the Indian Railways to transport its cars to remote areas in the western, eastern, and northeastern parts of India.

Maruti Suzuki currently ships a little over 5 percent of its cars through trains and is looking to increase it, if the railways can support it. Maruti uses auto wagon rakes to transport cars from Gurgaon to Karnataka and Gujarat.

The carmaker has invested Rs. 50 crore to develop three flexi-deck auto wagon rakes with the railways' Research and development organisation. Also, Maruti Suzuki recently got an automobile freight train operator licence from the Indian Railways, making the company the only one in India to do so.

The licence will allow Maruti Suzuki to develop, procure, and operate its own auto wagon rakes. With the introduction of high speed rakes, the carmaker is trying to bring down the transport timing by 50 percent between Gurgaon and Karnataka. This will result in faster deliveries to customers.

The flexi deck auto wagon rake will help Maruti carry 318 cars, and will help the cars to be transported at a speed of 95km/h, compared to the present 65km/h with the existing rakes.