Trucks on a Train

Fillmore · 9th April 2008, 21:04

This facility is currently only available on the Konkan Railway from Mumbai to Mlore.
(To be precise from Kolad to Surathkal.)

Trucks which would otherwise take close to 72 hrs by road now cover the same distance of 900km in 16 hrs.

Was at the Madgao railway station this week when the Roll-On Roll-Off training was passing by and clicked a few pics.
If was funny to see the truck drivers lazily sitting inside the vehicles playing cards and passing their time.

Advantages for the Trucks are

- No wear and tear of the Truck
- No fatigue on the driver
- No hassles of bribing the cops at all the check posts
- Short travel time

normally_crazy · 9th April 2008, 22:04

Sweet Fillmore ! I always wanted to see this. Trucks on trains have been ringing in the profits for the railways big time.

And what's with that station ? How can it be so clean ? Looks like an European one alright !

Thanks for sharing.

ps - any more pictures of the trains ?

snaronikar · 9th April 2008, 22:09

Good pic Fillmore. Never seen so many trucks on a train. Makes a good business sense to everybody tough.

speedzak · 9th April 2008, 22:23

Wow! Saves a lot of hassles of loading, unloading and local movements compared to the goods train. Less of bullying traffic on the roads too. :

Nice find Filmore. Never seen such a scene in my life.

HappyWheels · 9th April 2008, 22:30

Such a smart move! Advantages all around - for the Railways in terms of revenue, for the truckers in terms of distance saving and lesser traffic on road!

But bad for check post policeman! No more bribe! :-)

Hurrycane12 · 9th April 2008, 22:38

Good One FillMore! seems the railways are minting money with innovative ideas.

sreenivass · 9th April 2008, 22:53

Great idea. It saves time for truckers and gets money for railways too.

phamilyman · 9th April 2008, 23:17

bahut purana funda hai. but like since kingdom come, this thing hasnt broken even - not enough volumes otherwise.

the konkan rail terminates too short of mumbai and of blr/kerala on the other side to carry much end-end load

Nitin · 9th April 2008, 23:24

Good thing to do. Reduces the risk of accidents on the roads,drivers who are less fatigued and definitely more lives being saved, apart from the time /money being saved.

Murugan · 9th April 2008, 23:34

Unique pictures!

Another option: Containers!

Wonder whether containers would have been an easier/ cheaper option.

Bare minimum - 16 man hours of so many drivers/ people would have been saved. Savings of space on the wagons leading to better space utilisation and lesser load to carry (all those trucks must add up to a significant weight) leading to savings in cost to the railways.

On the contrary - stuff has to be packed in containers, loaded and unloaded with cranes, translating to more (read expensive) infrastructure.

Jedi.Knight · 9th April 2008, 23:36

Had seen the train on our way from Bangalore to Goa. It was somewhere near the border. First we were amazed to see the row of trucks moving in a single file, no overtaking, no rash driving, equal distance between trucks. Then we saw the saw the train. It was worth a sight. Thanks for the pics.

nbr · 10th April 2008, 00:14

It was Manish transport who started doing this service.Hats Off to them.

This is as per an old article:
RORO service again on Konkan Railway

Mangalore , June 11, 2004

THE "Roll-On Roll-Off" (RORO) service between Maharashtra and Mangalore will be reintroduced on the Konkan Railway network on June 15.

The service was discontinued after running for a brief period during 1999.

Addressing the members of Truck Owners' Association at Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Mangalore on Thursday , Mr Manish Shah, partner of Manish Transport Company, Mumbai, said that his company has been appointed the service provider for Konkan Railway's "RORO" service between Kolad in Raigad district of Maharashtra and Surathkal in Mangalore.

In this, the loaded truck will roll on to the wagon at Kolad and roll off at Surathkal and vice versa. Mr Shah said that trucks would cover nearly 900 km on railway wagon without actually running. It is an alternate-day service for the customers of Mangalore, he said. The service will be flagged off at Kolad on June 15 and in Surathkal on June 16.

There will be a 72-seat coach in the train for drivers and cleaners of the trucks. At present, 35 trucks can be accommodated in every RORO service. Each truck on the wagon would have insurance cover for Rs 5 lakh, he added.

esteem_lover · 10th April 2008, 00:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

And what's with that station ? How can it be so clean ? Looks like an European one alright !

Come on N_C, not all stations are like the mumbai suburban stations. There are better kept ones in chennai too, just outside, i meant.

1100D · 10th April 2008, 00:53

This just doesn't look so right!

Would agree that a container option would be much more logical.

Sankar · 10th April 2008, 01:09

How do the trucks roll on and off from the flat beds?

A very nice move indeed.

9th April 2008, 21:04	#1
Fillmore BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 492 Thanked: 581 Times	Trucks on a Train This facility is currently only available on the Konkan Railway from Mumbai to Mlore. (To be precise from Kolad to Surathkal.) Trucks which would otherwise take close to 72 hrs by road now cover the same distance of 900km in 16 hrs. Was at the Madgao railway station this week when the Roll-On Roll-Off training was passing by and clicked a few pics. If was funny to see the truck drivers lazily sitting inside the vehicles playing cards and passing their time. Advantages for the Trucks are - No wear and tear of the Truck - No fatigue on the driver - No hassles of bribing the cops at all the check posts - Short travel time Attached Thumbnails
	(10) Thanks

9th April 2008, 22:04	#2
normally_crazy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,369 Thanked: 528 Times View My Garage	Sweet Fillmore ! I always wanted to see this. Trucks on trains have been ringing in the profits for the railways big time. And what's with that station ? How can it be so clean ? Looks like an European one alright ! Thanks for sharing. ps - any more pictures of the trains ?
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 22:09	#3
snaronikar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 2,845 Thanked: 29 Times View My Garage	Good pic Fillmore. Never seen so many trucks on a train. Makes a good business sense to everybody tough.
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 22:23	#4
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	Wow! Saves a lot of hassles of loading, unloading and local movements compared to the goods train. Less of bullying traffic on the roads too. : Nice find Filmore. Never seen such a scene in my life.
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 22:30	#5
HappyWheels Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,106 Thanked: 537 Times	Such a smart move! Advantages all around - for the Railways in terms of revenue, for the truckers in terms of distance saving and lesser traffic on road! But bad for check post policeman! No more bribe! :-)
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 22:38	#6
Hurrycane12 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Puttur Posts: 459 Thanked: 56 Times View My Garage	Good One FillMore! seems the railways are minting money with innovative ideas.
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 22:53	#7
sreenivass BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bangalore India Posts: 932 Thanked: 44 Times View My Garage	Great idea. It saves time for truckers and gets money for railways too.
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 23:17	#8
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	bahut purana funda hai. but like since kingdom come, this thing hasnt broken even - not enough volumes otherwise. the konkan rail terminates too short of mumbai and of blr/kerala on the other side to carry much end-end load
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 23:24	#9
Nitin Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,294 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	Good thing to do. Reduces the risk of accidents on the roads,drivers who are less fatigued and definitely more lives being saved, apart from the time /money being saved.
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 23:34	#10
Murugan BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 382 Thanked: 261 Times	Containers anybody? Unique pictures! Another option: Containers! Wonder whether containers would have been an easier/ cheaper option. Bare minimum - 16 man hours of so many drivers/ people would have been saved. Savings of space on the wagons leading to better space utilisation and lesser load to carry (all those trucks must add up to a significant weight) leading to savings in cost to the railways. On the contrary - stuff has to be packed in containers, loaded and unloaded with cranes, translating to more (read expensive) infrastructure. Last edited by Murugan : 9th April 2008 at 23:35.
	() Thanks

9th April 2008, 23:36	#11
Jedi.Knight BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Pune Posts: 53 Thanked: 37 Times	Had seen the train on our way from Bangalore to Goa. It was somewhere near the border. First we were amazed to see the row of trucks moving in a single file, no overtaking, no rash driving, equal distance between trucks. Then we saw the saw the train. It was worth a sight. Thanks for the pics.
	() Thanks

10th April 2008, 00:14	#12
nbr BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: MANGALORE/BALEHONNUR/DUBAI Posts: 438 Thanked: 47 Times View My Garage	Manish transport - They started it It was Manish transport who started doing this service.Hats Off to them. This is as per an old article: RORO service again on Konkan Railway Mangalore , June 11, 2004 THE "Roll-On Roll-Off" (RORO) service between Maharashtra and Mangalore will be reintroduced on the Konkan Railway network on June 15. The service was discontinued after running for a brief period during 1999. Addressing the members of Truck Owners' Association at Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in Mangalore on Thursday , Mr Manish Shah, partner of Manish Transport Company, Mumbai, said that his company has been appointed the service provider for Konkan Railway's "RORO" service between Kolad in Raigad district of Maharashtra and Surathkal in Mangalore. In this, the loaded truck will roll on to the wagon at Kolad and roll off at Surathkal and vice versa. Mr Shah said that trucks would cover nearly 900 km on railway wagon without actually running. It is an alternate-day service for the customers of Mangalore, he said. The service will be flagged off at Kolad on June 15 and in Surathkal on June 16. There will be a 72-seat coach in the train for drivers and cleaners of the trucks. At present, 35 trucks can be accommodated in every RORO service. Each truck on the wagon would have insurance cover for Rs 5 lakh, he added.
	() Thanks

10th April 2008, 00:53	#14
1100D Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,390 Thanked: 4,096 Times View My Garage	This just doesn't look so right! Would agree that a container option would be much more logical.
	() Thanks

10th April 2008, 01:09	#15
Sankar Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2005 Location: Location Posts: 5,766 Thanked: 9,054 Times	How do the trucks roll on and off from the flat beds? A very nice move indeed.
	() Thanks