After being a rice bowl of India, TS is emerging rail coach exporter: KCR

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao on Thursday said that Telangana was emerging as the exporter of rail coaches to the world. While inaugurating the Medha Rail Coach Factory, the largest private coach factory in India, at Kondakal in Shankarpally mandal of Rangareddy district, he assured complete support to Medha Servo Group for its expansion in Telangana and was confident that it would create massive employment opportunities for the local youth.

Addressing the factory employees after the inauguration, KCR said that it was a proud moment as ‘both sons of Telangana’ have established such a massive manufacturing facility to supply rail coaches to the entire world.

“For any State or country to progress, there should be a congenial eco-system and TS-iPASS has created such an eco-system for the industrial growth in Telangana. Due to the establishment of the rail coach factory, several ancillary industries are also coming up in the surrounding areas and creating more jobs for locals,” he said.

In a joint venture, Telangana-based Medha Servo Group and Stadler Rail established the rail coach manufacturing at Kondakal with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore. The Industries department led by Minister KT Rama Rao succeeded in attracting such massive investment for the establishment of India’s largest private coach factory in Hyderabad, despite the Centre giving cold-shoulders and going back on its promise to establish a rail coach factory at Kazipet under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.

The coach factory has been established in about 25 acres and will be expanded further in a phased manner. Apart from manufacturing components for two Vande Bharat trains being operated in the Telugu States, the facility has already supplied 160 coaches to the railways. The Medha Servo Group also plans to establish a wagon manufacturing unit spanning another 75 acres.

Ministers KT Rama Rao, T Harish Rao, P Sabith Indra Reddy, MPs, MLAs, and MLCs along with Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari, Principal Secretary for IT and Industries Jayesh Ranjan and others were present at the event.