India’s first semi-high pace freight prepare is prone to hit the tracks by December, officers mentioned Friday. Replicating the idea of Vande Bharat trains, the 16-coach ‘Gati Shakti’ prepare can clock 160 kmph and might be manufactured on the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai.
In order to implement the PM Gati Shakti initiative in a centered method, the Railways has created a separate directorate on the Railway Board with its branches at Khurda, Bilaspur, Delhi and Bengaluru divisions to expedite the bold scheme. “The design work for these trains has already started. We have also given the order for material…By December this year, we will be able to manufacture two of these trains,” ICF General Manager A Ok Agarwal mentioned, including that an general goal of 25 such trains has been set.
The closing variety of trains will rely upon how the preliminary ones are acquired by the market, he added. The Railways is planning to focus on the e-commerce and courier parcel section by means of these trains, officers mentioned. Each prepare may also have refrigerated wagons within the rear finish and within the entrance to hold perishables like milk merchandise, fish, fruit and greens.
Electricity connection for these wagons might be supplied from the coach. The remainder of the coaches may have rollers for transferring the container. Each coach may have two vast doorways for loading and unloading the containers. According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation, with a turnover of USD 50 billion in 2020, India has develop into the eighth largest marketplace for e-commerce.
“India’s e-commerce market is expected to reach USD 111 billion by 2024 and USD 200 billion by 2026 and expected to reach USD 350 billion by 2030,” the official mentioned, including that Indian Railways plans to seize the small measurement parcel shipments by operating devoted high-speed freight trains.
The Indian Railways is aiming to extend its share in freight transportation from the current 27 per cent to 45 per cent by 2030 by means of higher infrastructure and enterprise growth plans, in line with the National Rail Plan.
The Indian Railways has recognized 74 new ‘Gati-Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT) locations across the country, with 20 of them in the South Indian states under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bold ‘Gati-Shakti Multi Model Cargo Terminal’ coverage.
The coverage was launched in 2021 to be able to enhance funding within the growth of extra terminals for dealing with rail cargos.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”