(a) whether the Government has any plans for establishing the wagon manufacturing unit in Sitalapalli, Ganjam District, Odisha, for which land has been earmarked by the State Government;
(b) if so, the timeframe thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
(c) whether the Government will consider opening a coach manufacturing factory as well in Odisha as an alternative, considering the demand for coaches in the country, especially on the basis of post-COVID demand?
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) and (b): Wagon Factories are set up keeping in view the Railways’ overall requirement of the wagons. Existing wagon manufacturing capacity in the country is adequate. At present, there is no proposal to set up a wagon factory at Sitalapalli in Ganjam District of Odisha.
(c) A pre-requisite to setting up Railway coach factory is a sustained demand of coaches in the future. The requirement of coaches vis-à-vis available manufacturing capacity has been reviewed recently and requirement of main line coaches in near future does not justify immediately initiating construction of a new coach factory.
*****