A boost to economic growth in Telangana

Warangal: The upcoming railway wagon manufacturing unit at Kazipet for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone on Saturday promises to accelerate the growth of state and national economy as it would be manufacturing wagons, which would be sent to various parts of the country by the Railways.

According to officials of the South Central Railway (SCR), who took the media on a visit ahead of the visit of the Prime Minister to Warangal, the demand for wagons has been increasing every year in all the zones. They said the Railways plans to achieve a loading target of 3,000 MT per annum and for this it requires wagons to meet the growing demand of the industry.

In 2022-23, the Railways procured 22,790 wagons against the target of 30,000. With the construction of the railway wagon manufacturing unit in Kazipet not only will it ensure higher supply but also act as a market stabilization tool. The construction of the Kazipet manufacturing unit is another major step in taking forward the initiative of Atmanirbhar Bharat, they said.

To begin with, this manufacturing unit will have the capacity to manufacture 1,200 wagons per year. From the second year, this will be scaled up to 2,400 wagons per year and the unit will be built on 160 acres. Not only wagons will be manufactured but also various types of rolling stock will be manufactured by using various modern technologies that include robotic paints and many more.

Briefing about the upcoming manufacturing unit, SCR General Manager Arun Kumar Jain said, “This project is very prestigious not only from the Railways point of view but also the entire state of Telangana.

This is the first railway wagon manufacturing unit that will be set up by the Indian Railways in Telangana. The manufacturing unit will spur the ecosystem of new industrial development in Hanumakonda region of Telangana and will play an important role in the socio-economic progress of the people in the region. This will give direct employment to over 1,200 local people and a lot of indirect employment.

They said that initially a wagon repair workshop was sanctioned at Kazipet to undertake periodic overhauling (POH) of 200 wagons per month. Later on, considering various factors such as the enhanced requirement of wagons by the Railways and regular demand from various quarters for the establishment of a manufacturing unit to promote local industry, the decision to set up the wagon manufacturing unit at Kazipet was taken.

The estimated cost of the unit is Rs 521 crore. The project is scheduled to be ready by February 2025.