BENGALURU: The first Roll on-Roll off (Ro-Ro) service of South Western Railway Zone, aimed at carrying 43 trucks between Nelamangala in Bengaluru Rural to Solapur in Maharashtra, is yet to begin two months after it was proposed. Initially, there were concerns over low-hanging overhead electrical wires. But later, the construction of a ramp to park trucks on the train held up the launch.
The train will cover 682 km between Nelamangala and Bale in Solapur in six days and the project was cleared by the Railway Board on April 2. Shivaji Suttur, Chief Public Relations Officer, Central Railway, said, “A ramp is being readied now and operations will start once it is ready.” Udayshankar Patil of Jitendra Realty and Infrastructure Private Limited, the freight aggregator for the scheme, said that the ramp and a road are being constructed by the company.
“The ramp will be in place in eight to 10 days. We are also constructing a road on the premises of Solapur station,” he said. Since the area fell within a red zone in Maharashtra, there were difficulties in completing the road. “There is a lot of demand to transport goods and bookings will begin once we are ready,” he added.
Yogendra Sharma, who prepared the Detailed Project Report, said, “Reduction of road traffic and reduction in fuel consumption are major benefits. Since the train carries the truck, it is a door-to-door delivery of goods,” he said. Chief PRO, SWR, E Vijaya said, “The construction of ramp to facilitate loading has commenced now.”