Braithwaite Flags Off Newly Designed Wagons To Carry More Goods, Offer Flexible Transportation

Pitching for accommodating more goods in containers, a newly designed 25 ton axle-load flat wagons have been rolled out, to meet the increasing demand for freight transportation.    

Designed, developed and manufactured by Braithwaite & Co. Ltd. (BCL),
the new BLSS wagons — also known as Spine Cars — are specialized 25 ton axle-load flat cars made specifically to carry intermodal containers and trailers.

With these Spine Cars, one train consists of 48 wagons instead of 45 earlier. Hence, additional loadings can be accommodated in single stack and 12 in double stack.

In the earlier Bogie Low platform wagons — BLCM/BLCS — rakes, if one wagon becomes sick, then a module of five wagons has to be detached. But it is not so in the case of BLSS wagons.

Built at an estimated cost of Rs 22 crore, the first rake consisting 48 wagons was flagged off by Pipavav Railway Corporation Ltd (PRCL) managing director, Sanjiv Garg at Clive Works in Kolkata.

"These are optimized to carry all types of containers and therefore bring in more flexibility for transportation. The BLSS Wagon design is lean and its structure is more robust and lighter. The carrying capacity of the rake would, therefore, increase by 7.4 per cent making it commercially advantageous," said Garg.

The first consignment was made ready for Pipavav Railway Corporation through GATX India Private Limited.

Customized for the vendor's requirements, the newly designed wagon is yet another feather in the product range of Braithwaite and proves technical capabilities of the highest standards in the rail sector.

Since it is mainly for containers, the metal scrap, processed food, handicrafts, electronic goods, rice and many other finished goods can be transported on rails.