The country’s first rail auto hub will soon come up in Walajabad, near Chennai, to help automobile manufacturers in the region transport vehicles to other parts of the country. This has been one of the long-standing demands of the auto industry.
The announcement made by the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on the auto hub along with the North-South dedicated freight corridor was a highlight for the Southern Railway in this Railway Budget.
Walajabad in Kancheepuram district is 10-40 km from the major auto hubs of Oragadam, Sriperambudur and Singaperumal Koil where major OEMs such as Nissan, Hyundai, Ford and Daimler are present.
Railway sources said that this auto hub has a potential to handle over one million four-wheelers produced in these areas. The auto hub will also act as an ideal distribution centre for the inward traffic from OEMs such as Tata and Honda located elsewhere for markets in the region.
With an initial holding capacity of over 300 four-wheelers, this auto rail hub also has good road connectivity to the production and consumption centres.
The first phase of the hub will be ready to handle automobile-carrying train in March 2016. The second phase will include cement concrete pavement of over 5,000 sq m for which tender is likely to be completed in the next four months. While hinterland traffic is the prime segment, the Southern Railway intends to capture the considerable export market on offer from the ports of Chennai and Ennore, through competitive pricing, the sources said.
BC Dutta, AVP, Corporate Affairs, Hyundai Motor India, commenting on the auto hub said this will definitely help the industry. “The Railways has created an excellent facility at Walajabad,” he said. At present, Hyundai is using Tiruvallur station to move cars to other parts of the country. This will be shifted to Walajabad, which is closer to the company’s plant located at Sriperumbudur, he said. Following the North-West and North-East dedicated freight corridors, the Minister announced North-South corridor connecting Delhi and South.
A senior official of the Southern Railway said that the Delhi-Chennai railway line is one of the most congested lines for both passenger and freight traffic in the country with movement of food grains, construction material, white goods and industrial products. The dedicated freight corridor is a necessity keeping in mind the future growth of ports in the southern region.