Railways To Introduce More Specialized Wagons For Vehicle Transportation: Hitendra Malhotra

Indian Railways is emerging as a key mode of transporting vehicles across the country, offering an efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly alternative to road transport. 

Railways is now looking to further boost automotive transportation with more specialised wagons with higher capacities and collaboration with the industry, according to Hitendra Malhotra, member of the Railway Board for Operations & Business Development at the Ministry of Railways.

“We are now introducing more specialized wagons with higher car carrying capacities per rake, including double decks for SUVs to meet the logistics requirements of the automobile sector,” Malhotra said while speaking at the 11th Automotive Logistics Conclave organised by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

OEMs are utilizing rail transport as part of a multi-modal logistics strategy. They leverage the cost, environmental, safety, and capacity advantages of rail for long-distance transportation, while still relying on trucks for the crucial first and last mile delivery.

The government’s PM GatiShakti National Master Plan (PMGS-NMP) aims to expand multimodal logistics capacity, reduce truck reliance, and shift freight to rail to cut emissions. Malhotra highlighted the remarkable growth in Indian Railways' freight transportation share, which surged to 24% last year from just 1.5% in 2016. Indian Railways moved approximately 1,617 million tonnes of freight last year, with an ambitious plan to increase this to 3,000 million tonnes.

Recently, Maruti Suzuki opened India's largest automobile in-plant railway siding at its Manesar facility. The railway siding operates under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan and forms part of the 126-kilometer Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) connecting Sonipat to Palwal. 

Maruti Suzuki India moved 518,000 vehicles through the rail network in the financial year 2025. By the financial year 2030, the automaker aims to dispatch 35% of its vehicles, or around 1.4 million units, via Indian Railways. Hyundai Motor India also transported 1,56,000 vehicles, or 26% of its domestic volume, through the rail network in 2024.

India has set up two dedicated freight corridors that are designed and built only for freight trains. The 1,856 km long Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor from Ludhiana (Punjab) to Dakuni (West Bengal), is fully operational, while the last leg of the 1,506 km long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, that runs from Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to JNPT (Navi Mumbai) will be commissioned by December.

Railways has introduced different types of wagons specifically designed for automobile transport. These include New Modified Goods (NMG) coaches that old passenger coaches modified for carrying vehilces. 

“At present, 19 automobile freighter operators are registered in this scheme. Auto-ancillaries, auto-spares are also permitted to be carried in both onward and return directions. And there is a separate freight structure for loaded wagons and empty wagons,” he added.

Bogie Covered Auto Car Bi-level  (BCACB) wagons are specialized double-decker wagons that can carry a larger number of cars. Railways is also introducing new Auto Car Taller (ACT) double-decker wagons designed to accommodate larger passenger vehicles, including SUVs.

Railways promotes and facilitates the transportation of manufactured vehicles (cars, two-wheelers, tractors, commercial vehicles) from plants across India through the Automobile Freight Train Operator (AFTO) Scheme. Under this policy, logistics companies and auto OEMs can procure specialized wagons and operate these trains on the Indian Railways network.