Prayagraj: North Central Railway runs 2.7 km long freight train for loading coal
Giving a boost to freight mobility and aiming to expedite the movement of coal rakes, North Central Railway (NCR), in a first for it, formed a long haul of four empty BOXN (bogie open high-sided) rakes from Chunar on Saturday evening
Giving a boost to freight mobility and aiming to expedite the movement of coal rakes, North Central Railway (NCR), in a first for it, formed a long haul of four empty BOXN (bogie open high-sided) rakes from Chunar on Saturday evening.
Named ‘Pinaka’, the long haul consisted of a total of whopping 232 wagons (58 wagons per part) and four brake vans making it 2.7km long. It was formed at Chunar by clubbing four empty BOXN rakes with the leading part having WAG9 (a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives) multiple-unit locomotive while the rest three parts had their locomotives, informed the chief public relation officer (CPRO) of NCR Shivam Sharma.
Usually, the long haul trains are run by clubbing two trains. However, in view of expediting the freight movement, especially coal, long hauls of three or more trains have been formed on a trial basis, he shared.
In August, 36 long hauls of two trains and four Triagni (a long haul of 3 empty BOXN rakes) were formed by the Prayagraj Division of NCR at Chunar. These long hauls of empty BOXN rakes are handed over to ECR for loading at various coal loading sites, CPRO said.
The main aim of these long haul trains is to increase the line capacity.
Since the Chunar-Chopan section is a single-line section at present and it also serves as the trunk route for coal movement as maximum coal loading is taking place in northern coal fields (NCL), the idea of running long haul trains has been executed to increase the mobility of coal rakes without affecting the punctuality of coaching trains, NCR officials said.
Pinaka departed from Chunar at 6.20 pm on Saturday and was handed over to East Central Railway at Chopan. Two BOXN were placed at Shakti Nagar siding and two others were placed at Krishanshilla siding, they added.
Long hauls of two trains have traditionally been made in NCR from locations like Tundla, Khurja, Jhansi and Baad (near Mathura). These trials will be continued regularly, the officials said.
