HYDERABAD: In an exciting development, India's largest private rail coach factory was recently inaugurated in Telangana. The facility, located in Kondakal village, Rangareddy district, near Hyderabad, marks a significant milestone in the state's progress. Spearheaded by Medha Servo Drives Private Limited, a prominent Telangana-based company known for its expertise in designing and manufacturing complex electrical and electronic railway products, this endeavor showcases Telangana's prowess in the rail industry.

Telangana's Chief Minister, K. Chandrsekhar Rao, inaugurated the factory and expressed immense pride in witnessing a homegrown company taking the lead in building rail coaches within the state. He also highlighted the company's recent achievement of securing a monorail order from Mumbai, further reinforcing Telangana's reputation as a hub of innovation and manufacturing excellence.

The establishment of a rail coach factory in Telangana was a promise made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014, which ensured that the state would have its own facility within six months of its formation. However, despite repeated appeals by the state government, this promise remained unfulfilled.

In 2017, Medha Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) to establish the private rail coach factory. The partnership laid the foundation for realizing the vision of a state-of-the-art facility that would contribute significantly to the railway sector.

The foundation stone for the factory was laid by Industries Minister K.T. Rama Rao on August 13, 2020. This event marked the commencement of a transformative project that aimed to revolutionize rail coach manufacturing in India. With an impressive investment of Rs 1,000 crore, the factory boasts a production capacity of 500 coaches and 50 locomotives per year.

Spread across a sprawling 100-acre area, the factory is poised to become a center of excellence for developing various types of railway rolling stock. From coaches and train sets to locomotives, metro trains, and monorails, the facility will cater to diverse requirements of the rail industry.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Medha's Managing Director, Kasyap Reddy, revealed that the company has already invested approximately Rs 400 crore in the first phase of the project. The total proposed investment for this ambitious venture stands at Rs 805 crore.

The factory has already generated employment for 558 individuals, with an additional 500 benefiting indirectly from the project. Looking ahead, the facility aims to create around 1,000 more jobs in the near future, contributing to the growth and prosperity of the region.

Kasyap Reddy also outlined the company's vision for the future, emphasizing that by the end of this year, the factory will complete coach manufacturing for the monorail project. Furthermore, Medha aspires to expand its operations beyond India, envisioning the manufacturing of railway products not only for the domestic market but also for the global stage.

Setting themselves apart from the competition, Medha takes pride in being the sole Indian company equipped with in-house research and development facilities. In addition to their current endeavors in manufacturing bogies for the Indian Railways, they are poised to commence the production of complete Mumbai Monorail train sets in the near future.