ERODE: In an effort to facilitate transportation of goods produced by small-scale industries and traders during the lockdown, the Southern Railway has planned to operate a goods train from Erode to New Delhi on Fridays.
A press release stated that the small-scale industries and agricultural activities are lifelines of the Indian economy, and 95 per cent of the industrial units fall under the category of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME). However, the pandemic has greatly affected the transportation of products such as manure, fertilizers, pesticides, cattle feeds, poultry, motors, pump sets and irrigation equipment among others.
So, the Southern Railways has planned to run Turmeric City-New Delhi Cargo Express train for the benefit of small traders in the trying times. “The cargo train will leave Erode on Fridays at 3 pm and reach New Delhi in 60 hours. Small industrial units, agricultural producers and traders can load any number of wagons from four railway divisions -- Salem, Madurai, Tiruchy and Chennai.
However, a minimum of ten wagons should be loaded in each location by a single party or by multiple parties,” the release said.The freight per tonne will be charged as per the extended commercial rule, and the train’s despatch is subject to a minimum available load of 30 wagons. Besides, destinations other than Delhi will be considered based on the existing demand, the release added. For further details, contact the Senior Divisional Operations Manager of the respective railway divisions.