Srinagar, 3 October (H.S.): Kashmir on Friday received its first automobile rake from the Jammu Division of Northern Railway, bringing new vehicles to the Valley directly from manufacturing plants, officials said.

The train, carrying 116 vehicles manufactured at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plant, reached the Anantnag Goods Shed in south Kashmir on Friday morning, officials added.

The arrival of the automobile carrier marks a milestone in the transportation of automobiles to Kashmir.

The new vehicles had to be driven mostly to the sales dealerships in the Valley from Jammu in the absence of rail services. The transportation of new vehicles from Jammu often faced difficulties along the nearly 300-km Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, especially during the winter season when the road is frequently closed due to inclement weather and landslides.

With the dispatch of the first lot of vehicles to Kashmir Valley via train, the company became the first automobile manufacturer in India to utilise Indian Railways services for dispatching vehicles to the region, a Maruti Suzuki India spokesperson said.

“The maiden train carrying over 100 Maruti Suzuki vehicles like Brezza, Dzire, WagonR and S-Presso, among others, departed from the recently inaugurated Manesar in-plant railway siding of the company,” the spokesperson said.

Emphasising the importance of rail transport to the economy and lives, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the railway line is a game-changer for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“In recent times, apples from the Valley have been transported using the Jammu & Kashmir rail link. Now, Maruti Suzuki cars will be transported to Kashmir Valley by rail. Jammu-Srinagar railway line is a game-changer for the people of Jammu & Kashmir,” the minister said.

Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki India, said railway dispatches were central to their logistics strategy.

“The world’s highest railway arch bridge in Chenab is one…landmark, enabling seamless and efficient connectivity to Kashmir valley and allowing Maruti Suzuki to better serve customers in the region,” he said.

Takeuchi said aligned with the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, Maruti Suzuki operates two in-plant railway sidings, inside its Manesar, Haryana and Gujarat manufacturing plants.

These enable vehicle movement directly from the company’s facilities to different parts of the country, he added.

Hailing the move, the local Maruti dealerships said the step will ease the transportation of vehicles from manufacturing plants to the Valley.

“…The condition of the road is not good here, so the train (railway dispatches) is a good thing. The cars used to be driven from Jammu to Kashmir along the highway, but that can be avoided now,” said Irfan Ahmad Narwaroo, Managing Director of Jamkash Vehicleades (Kashmir) Pvt Ltd, the largest Maruti dealership in the Valley.

Narwaroo said the move will benefit customers. Earlier, new cars would already have clocked around 300 km when customers received them. “It will also save time. The availability will not be an issue now.”

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar