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RoadRailer, a bi-modal transportation unit, which runs as a semi-trailer on road and as a wagon on rail, was tested for the first time in India in the Chennai Division of the Southern Railway. This is in a bid to divert cargo traffic from road to rail and to offer seamless door-to-door goods transportation.
It works like this. Goods are loaded on to a RoadRailer unit in a godown; it travels by road, and is then directly coupled with railway wagons at the terminal (at Melpakkam). The unit (with wheels attached as in a normal truck) will be moved by rail and decoupled from the wagon at the receiving end, and attached to a truck to be moved on to the final destination, sources said.
RoadRailers can provide door-to-door service by integrating speed and efficiency of the Railways with the flexibility of a road truck. It has been operational in the US since the mid-80s and has a long proven track record. There are over 7,000 RoadRailer units in operation with 14 terminal locations across Eastern US and Canada, said sources.
Kirloskar Pneumatic Co Ltd (KPCL), a Kirloskar Group Company, in association with the Railways, on Wednesday conducted a dry run between Melpakkam and Jolarpet (142 km one way), said TP Singh, Senior Divisional Operations Manager, Chennai Division, Southern Railway.
The bogies of the RoadRailer will be maintained by the Railways with each having a unique identification number. KPCL will bring in the investment and provide these specially designed RoadRailers for the Railways, which will operate and maintain them, Singh told Business Line . Sources said KPCL has developed RoadRailer terminals at Chennai and Palwal (Haryana), and will deploy two dedicated RoadRailer rakes. It has established a dedicated RoadRailer-manufacturing greenfield facility of over 165 acres in Nasik, which commenced production in 2011.
The company is looking for strategic partners in logistics and transportation companies, for marketing and sales of these services.
The partner will be a virtual owner of the reserved capacity of the rake, and provide first- and last-mile (road) operations of the RailRailers, sources said.
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