The Latur Railway Coach Factory project is an example of the Mahayuti government’s balanced development principle. By implementing an important project like this in a less-industrialized region like Marathwada, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has walked his promise of spreading development across traditionally backward regions rather than limiting them to major cities. This factory in Latur, which will manufacture Metro coaches and Vande Bharat coaches, will generate around 10000 job opportunities, serving the state’s agenda of industrial expansion for boosting local economies.
The Latur Railway Coach Factory project was announced in January 2018. In February 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Railways and the Maharashtra government. All subsequent steps, from the tender process to land transfer to commencement of work, were completed within a few months. This was due to Devendra Fadnavis’s effective leadership and decision-making. The Marathwada Railway Coach Factory will be the first such project in Maharashtra, to be completed so quickly. On December 25, 2020, the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first railway coach shell was rolled out from the factory. The announcement was made by then-Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal.
Latur Railway Coach Manufacturing Factory Timeline
January 2018: Decision to set up the Metro Coach Project in Latur announced
February 2018: MoU signed between the Railway Ministry and the Maharashtra Government
March 31, 2018: Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the project
August 30, 2018: Tender process completed in just 5 months and work instructions issued
September 11, 2018: Railway Department paid approximately ₹22 crore to MIDC for the land in just 11 days
October 2018: Actual work began
December 25, 2020: Actual production of Metro coach shells commenced on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
March 2023: Final stage of tender process completed. Decision to manufacture 120 Vande Bharat trains in Latur
September 2024: Decision to manufacture 1,920 sleeper coaches with technical assistance from Kaynet Railway Solutions
August 2025: 1,000 people employed at the Latur factory. 10,000 potential jobs expected in the coming days
The Marathwada Rail Coach Factory in Latur (MRCF) is a key project set up by Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) that has the capacity to produce 250 to 400 coaches annually and will generate approximately 10000 direct and indirect employment opportunities for the local youth. An investment of approximately ₹705 crore has been made in this project. A joint venture involving RVNL has started operation in this coach factory for manufacturing and maintaining 1,920 Vande Bharat Sleeper coaches (120 trainsets) for 35 years.
Spread across 153.88 hectares, this project will be beneficial not only for Latur but for the entire Marathwada region. Rising above politics, Devendra Fadnavis, during his first term as Chief Minister from 2014 to 2019, studied the region’s needs and capabilities and made decisions based on long-term development. He introduced several initiatives to address Latur’s chronic water scarcity, agricultural distress, and industrial development. Key contributions included the implementation of the Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan, the historic “Water Train” initiative, and the conception of the Marathwada Water Grid. And now. India’s fourth and Maharashtra’s first railway coach factory is in Latur! Devendra Fadnavis’s visionary and dynamic leadership is changing Latur from a backward district to an industrial hub in Marathwada.
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