Asia’s second-largest rail transporter, Indian Railways created a new world record by commissioning the first high rise overhead equipment (OHE) with a contact wire height of 7.57 m and successfully operated a double stack container train in the electrified territory on the Western Railway.
A first globally, it will also boost the Railways’ ambitious ‘Green India’ mission. With this achievement, the Railways has become the world’s first rail transporter to run double-stack container trains with high reach pantograph in the high rise OHE territory. Operations were successfully commenced on June 10 from Palanpur and Botad stations in Gujarat.
The Railways has been giving thrust to such initiatives to encourage innovation, speed and customisation in freight operations. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 lockdown, the public sector transporter is looking to surpass its 2019 freight carriage.
In May, the Indian Railways transported 82.27 million tonnes (MT) of essential commodities, which was more than 25 per cent higher MoM. In comparison, the Railways transported 65.14 MT of essential commodities from April 1to April 30. On a consolidated basis, from April 1 to June 10, the Railways transported 178.68 MT of essential commodities through its uninterrupted 24x7 freight trains operations.
From March 24 – the day the nationwide lockdown was enforced – to June 10, over 3.24 million wagons carried supplies to keep the supply chain running. Of these, more than 1.8 million wagons carried essential commodities like food grains, salt, sugar, milk, edible oil, onions, fruits & vegetables, petroleum products, coal and fertilisers.