India's largest private rail coach factory opens in Telangana

On Thursday (22 June), Medha Servo Drives Private Limited, a Telangana-based company that designs and manufactures complex electrical and electronic railway products, inaugurated India's largest private rail coach factory in Kondakal village, Rangareddy district near Hyderabad.

 

The facility was opened by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who expressed pride in the fact that a homegrown company would be building rail coaches in the state. He also expressed his happiness over the company's recent Monorail order from Mumbai.

 

In 2017, Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) andMedha Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a private rail coach factory. On 13 August, 2020, Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao laid the foundation stone for the factory.

 

The announcement was made that the private rail coach factory will have a production capacity of 500 coaches and 50 locomotives per year, with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore.

 

 

 

The factory, spread over 100 acres, will develop all types of railway rolling stock, including coaches, train sets, locomotives, Metro trains and Monorails.

 

Despite repeated appeals by the state government, the Rail Coach Factory promised to Telangana as part of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014 did not become a reality within six months of the state's formation. However, with the inauguration of this new facility, Telangana has taken a significant step towards becoming a major player in the railway industry.

 

At the inaugural ceremony, Medha Group's managing director Kasyap Reddy announced that they have invested around Rs 400 crore in the first phase of the project. He also stated that the proposed investment for the project is Rs 805 crore.

 

Reddy further revealed that the project has already provided employment to 558 people, with an additional 500 people benefiting indirectly. He added that they plan to employ around 1,000 more people in the near future.

 

The managing director also shared that they aim to complete the total coach manufacturing for the Monorail project at the facility by the end of this year. Medha, which claims to be the only Indian company with in-house research and development facilities, is currently manufacturing bogies for the Indian Railways. They will soon commence the manufacturing of complete Mumbai Monorail train sets.

 

Medha serves railway customers across the world through its subsidiary companies in Spain, Italy, USA, Brazil and Poland. In a move to expand its rail coach manufacturing capabilities, Medha Servo Drives has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Swiss railway rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail. The JV will establish a new factory in Telangana.

 

Stadler Rail, with its headquarters in Bussnang, Switzerland, has been a prominent player in the railway market for over 80 years. It has a dominant market share in the global railway rolling stock manufacturing industry. The proposed Telangana Unit will be utilised by the JV to cater to its tenders from the Indian market and exports from customers across the Asia Pacific region.

 

Since 1990, Medha has been supplying various products to Railways and has become the largest supplier of propulsion equipment (Electronics) to Indian Railways. Established in 1984, the company has a long-standing history in the industry.

 

Medha is the largest manufacturer of traction motors for Railways and the largest Indian company supplying advanced signaling and safety systems. The company's commitment to innovation and excellence has made it a leader in the industry.

 

According to Reddy, Medha is bringing innovative technologies to India in areas such as solar inverters, propulsion systems for battery electric vehicles, and canal automation systems.

 

The company has also entered the defence manufacturing sector by signing an MoU to develop large propulsion motors for the Indian Navy.