Maruti Suzuki starts rail vehicle deliveries to Pollachi terminal

Maruti Suzuki India Limited has achieved a major milestone in sustainable logistics by becoming the first passenger vehicle manufacturer to use rail transport for delivering cars to the Pollachi Railway Terminal in Tamil Nadu. This timely initiative supports the surging vehicle demand in southern India ahead of the Onam festival. The inaugural automobile rake carrying 120 vehicles was flagged off from Manesar on August 18, 2026, and successfully reached Pollachi Junction on August 24, 2026. Here are the key highlights of this new railway freight service.

• Maruti Suzuki is the first carmaker to deliver vehicles via train to Pollachi.
• The maiden rake consisted of 25 specialized wagons carrying 120 popular models like the Wagon R, Ertiga, Dzire, and Celerio.
• The shipment departed from the Manesar manufacturing facility in Haryana and arrived at Pollachi Junction under the Palakkad Railway Division at 5:45 PM on Monday, August 24, 2026.
• The freight cost for the initial 120-vehicle consignment was approximately Rs 30 lakh, with the cars heading to showrooms in Kerala, Coimbatore, Madurai, and Pollachi.

Boosting Southern Logistics through Amrit Bharat Infrastructure

The newly utilized Pollachi Railway Terminal recently underwent modernization under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme and was inaugurated in March 2026. The upgraded terminal is now fully equipped to handle automobile freight logistics and is projected to manage about 70 automobile rakes annually. This capacity will facilitate the seamless delivery of more than 11,000 vehicles every year to various southern markets, cutting down transit time and highway congestion.

Driving Towards Green Logistics

This strategic partnership between Indian Railways and Maruti Suzuki underscores a mutual commitment to sustainable transportation and carbon footprint reduction. Maruti Suzuki aims to increase its rail-based vehicle dispatches to 35 percent by FY2030-31, a notable rise from 26.5 percent in FY2025-26 and a mere 5 percent in FY2014-15. By shifting more automobile traffic from highways to the railway network, Indian Railways continues to prove its efficiency as a preferred logistics partner for India's booming manufacturing sector.