NEW DELHI: After conducting the successful trial run of double-decker freight trains on the newly-built Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur district in December last year, the Indian Railways on Thursday created a world record by commissioning the first high rise Over Head Equipment (OHE) and successfully running double stack containers in electrified territory on the Western Railway.
The Railway Ministry in a statement said that Indian Railways created a new world benchmark by successfully running the first double stack container train in high rise OHE electrified sections, which has contact wire height of 7.57 metre.
It said that the operations successfully commenced on Wednesday from Palanpur and Botad stations in Gujarat. “This tremendous achievement is a first of its kind in the entire world and will also boost the ambitious mission of Green India as a latest green initiative over Indian Railways,” it said.
“With this remarkable development, Indian Railways has proudly become the first Railway to run double stack container train with high reach pantograph in high rise OHE territory,” it added.
The ministry said that the thrust of such kind of initiatives is on innovation, speed and customisation in freight operations. The Railway Ministry further said that inspite of time that was lost under the nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of novel coronavirus, the national transporter is focusing to surpass last year’s freight figures.
“From April 1 to June 10, Railways has transported 178.68 million tonnes of commodities through its uninterrupted freight trains operations across the country,” the ministry said, adding that from March 24 to June 10, more than 32.40 lakh wagons carried supplies to keep the supply chain functional.
It said that of these, more than 18 lakh wagons carried essential commodities like food grains, salt, sugar, milk, edible oil, onion, fruits and vegetables, petroleum products, coal, fertilisers etc. throughout the country.
Between April 1 and June 10, Railways loaded 12.74 million tonnes of food grains as compared to 6.79 million tonnes in the same period last year, it said.
Besides the freight train operations, the Railways from March 22 to June 10 operated 3,897 parcel trains of which 3,790 were time-tabled special parcel trains in which 1.39 lakh tonnes of consignment were loaded.
