BL reported that engineering and electrical goods major Siemens may soon set up a facility to manufacture coaches for trains and metros in India, thereby launching a completely new business segment in the country.

According to report, the Indian arm of the German company has nearly completed the acquisition of land at Aurangabad in Maharashtra to put up a Greenfield plant for the manufacture of engineering goods including rolling stock. The report said that the Siemens intends to begin with the manufacture of metro coaches, it adding that work on developing the land which is adjoining the Skoda plant in the Shendra industrial estate in Aurangabad.

The initial financial outlay of the new factory part of what is pegged as a mega project is understood to be around INR 500 crore. It is not clear whether this investment will be made by Siemens India or as foreign direct investment from the German parent Siemens AG.

Ms Kavita Ghatge VP corporate communications of Siemens Limited said that “We are intensifying our presence in India. We already have a significant presence in Aurangabad with 2 manufacturing facilities, 1 for high voltage switchgear and the other for low voltage switchgear. We are looking at Aurangabad as a location for supporting our expansion and growth plans in the Industry sector, which includes transportation.”

The Siemens Transportation Systems business unit has been building trains for nearly 150 years and is a leading manufacturer of complete metro systems. In India the division supplies equipment to the railway coach factories at Chennai & Kapurthala and also offers solutions for the railway sector in the field of automation, traction equipment and electrification.