The West Bengal Cabinet has approved the transfer of approximately 40 acres of land in Uttarpara to Titagarh Rail Systems, which plans to utilise the site for manufacturing and commissioning metro coaches and Vande Bharat trains. The land was part of a larger 395-acre plot previously owned by Hindustan Motors, a C.K. Birla Group company.

The state government initiated legal proceedings nearly three years ago to reclaim the land from Hindustan Motors, which had been lying unused since the automaker ceased operations at its Uttarpara plant in 2014. The decision to transfer the 40-acre parcel was finalised at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Titagarh Rail Systems confirmed it had entered into a 99-year lease agreement on 12 July 2025 with the Governor of West Bengal, securing 40.009 acres at Mouza Kotrung and Mouza Bhadrakali in Uttarpara. The total lease consideration amounts to Rs 1.27 billion.

“This land adjoins our existing facility and will help expand our capacity. More importantly, it will allow us to build a state-of-the-art testing facility with a test track to conduct dynamic and running trials before trains are commissioned,” said Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Titagarh Rail Systems.

The land will be used to establish new production infrastructure and dedicated zones for testing metro and Vande Bharat trains. The company noted that this would ensure comprehensive performance validation and enhance safety prior to passenger deployment.

Previously, Hindustan Motors had proposed to set up an electric vehicle (EV) project on the site, but this plan was stalled after the government issued a notice to reclaim the land. The once-iconic automaker had stopped producing the Ambassador in 2014 and suspended operations at the plant in May that year. The brand was later sold to French automaker Peugeot.