South Central Railway operates 4 long haul goods trains under ‘Triveni’ initiative
VIJAYAWADA: The South Central Railway (SCR) on Sunday, October 17, 2021, operated four long haul trains in three different directions in a single day under ‘Triveni’ initiative, meaning the confluence of three sacred rivers. This unique initiative was taken up by the Vijayawada division of the SCR. Each long haul train was formed by clubbing two goods trains and these goods trains are twice longer than the normal composition of freight trains, providing a very effective solution to the problem of capacity constraints in critical sections.
Out of four long haul trains, two long haul trains each consisting of 118 open wagons (58 +58 BOX N wagons) were formed and dispatched to Talcher towards Visakhapatnam direction from Vijayawada, with an average lead of around 900 km. Another long haul train departed from Adani Krishnapatnam Port by clubbing two open wagon trains (each consisting of 59 + 59 BOX N Wagons), passing through Obulavaripalli and destined to Kesoram Cement with a lead of 645 km.
The third direction was from Vijayawada to Kondapalli by clubbing two covered wagon trains (BCN rakes). These four long haul trains were dispatched in all three possible directions from Vijayawada. SCR general manager Gajanan Mallya on Sunday said the initiative was taken to speed up the operation of goods trains so that both empty and loaded wagons can be transported to their loading/ unloading points in the least possible time, while also meeting the demands of the freight customers.
“Running of long haul trains contributes in reducing the wagon turnaround time and assists in enhancing the throughput of the freight loading. In addition, clubbing two trains into a single train reduces the manpower needed, so that they can be utilised for other train operations when there is heavy movement of trains,” he said.
The major advantage of running long haul trains is it helps in reducing the en-route detention resulting in improved operational efficiency, which helps in increasing the average speed of freight trains. He opined that running long-haul trains will help Railways in utilising the rolling stock optimally and also assists in transporting the bulk commodities in a short time frame.