Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : Indian Railways has successfully operated two long haul freight trains: “Trishul” and “Garuda”, for the first time over South Central Railway(SCR). Long haul trains, which are twice or multiple times longer than the normal composition of freight trains, provide a very effective solution to the problem of capacity constraints in critical sections.
Trishul is SCR’s first long haul comprising three freight trains, i.e., 177 wagons. This train was started on October 7, 2021, from Kondapalli station of Vijayawada Division to Khurda Division of East Coast Railway (ECR). SCR followed it up with running of yet another similar one named Garuda on October 8, 2021, from Raichur under Guntakal Division to Manuguru under Secunderabad Division. In both the cases, the long haul trains comprised empty open wagons for loading of coal meant for predominantly thermal power stations.
SCR is a one of the five major freight loading railways on IR. Bulk of SCR’s freight traffic moves in certain arterial routes such as Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada-Gudur-Renigunta, Ballarshah-Kazipet-Vijayawada, Kazipet-Secunderabad-Wadi, Vijayawada-Guntur-Guntakal sections. As bulk of its freight traffic has to pass through these major routes, it is essential for SCR to maximise throughput available across these critical sections, according to a PIB release.
Saving of path across congested routes, quicker transit time, maximising throughput of critical sections, and saving in crews are the major operational benefits of running long haul trains, which help IR serve its freight customers better.