Railways To Introduce Ro-Ro Transportation Service In Central And Western Zones, Will Reduce Traffic And Pollution 

Indian Railways will introduce Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro) services in central and western zones to check pollution, reduce road congestion and fuel consumption, Financial Express has reported. This service will allow trucks to be loaded on to trains from urban areas and unloaded at ports and industrial hubs.

The first rake carrying trucks started its journey on 20 September from Surathkal in Karnataka and reached Karambeli in Gujarat on 21 September. The Ro-Ro rake consists of 25 trucks with an approximate fee of Rs 1.8 lakh. This stretch covers a distance of 290 Kilometres. Konkan Railway is utilising modified wagons with standard carrying capacity as regular ones cannot be used for the purpose.

The Ro-Ro service will help reduce traffic and pollution in Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s (MMR) Thane and Bhiwandi. Konkan Railway ran the country’s first RO-RO service in 1999. According to a senior railway officer, the service can save 10 litres of diesel per kilometre.