Vellore :

The double-deck train, inaugurated on Friday for transporting automobiles, has opened up an alternative transportation model for automobile manufacturers. The automobile hubs in the country will be connected through an automobile freight train.

The cost effective transportation will reduce pollution and congestion on the roads once it is expanded to cover automobile hubs such as Chennai. It will also reduce the duration of transportation from the manufacturing unit to the delivery point, besides reducing the damage to finished cars during transportation.

The train was designed by Railway Design and Standards Organisation and built by TEXMACO wagon manufacturer based in Kolkata, said officials of Southern Railways. “We have received orders to manufacture two more rakes, each consisting of 28 bogies. It can be used to transport different models of cars. The demand for such models will multiply in the near future. We will be able to manufacture a rake in a month,” CEO of TEXMACO Sandeep Fuller told Express.

APL Logistics VASCOR Automotive has rolled out the first automotive double-deck train with around 280 finished vehicles at Melpakkam. It will reach the multi-modal logistics park of Container Corporation of India at Khatuwas near Delhi next week. The train will be operated fortnightly between Chennai and New Delhi.

The unique door-to-door service covers the entire supply chain from the assembly line to distribution centre and finally to the dealership floor, said Bill Garratt, CEO of VASCOR Ltd.

He added that they would increase the frequency of train service and more destinations would be added to the network in the coming months.

Member Traffic Railways D P Pande said, “We need 100 rakes by 2020. We can transport only 25 percent of the finished cars by the automobile companies in the country using 100 rakes.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by J. Shanmuga Sundaram / November 09th, 2014