Railway board asks Central Railways to submit report on Ro-Ro project feasibility tomorrow; railway officials downplay plan as civic election-gimmick
We can't wrap our heads around this new proposal, but the Railway Board in Delhi claims to have found a brilliant solution to clear heavy vehicles off Mumbai’s road. Their plan: Transport the large container trucks on trains directly to the JNPT port.
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The board has now asked the Central Railway (CR) to study the feasibility of the plan, and submit a report by tomorrow. However, it appears that even the CR doesn’t think much of this proposal. “The ministry comes up with weird ideas that look good on paper, but are difficult to implement. It will end up looking like a gimmick,” said a railway official.
Sources said that the Railway Board wants the CR to see if Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro-Ro) services can be operated by them because the ministry is keen to announce its feasibility and earn brownie points before the BMC elections.
The Konkan Railway had first started Ro-Ro services on their route in 1999, and trucks were loaded onto the bogies using a ramp and elevator. These trucks and trailers were then ferried to the nearest port.
However, CR officials said that it is difficult to follow the same concept here due to the presence of overhead (OHE) cables. “Due to the OHE cables, it is practically impossible to ferry Ro-Ro services on this route. The cables will get damaged,” said a CR official on condition of anonymity.
Mapped out: The proposed Ro-Ro services will pass through Vasai, Bhiwandi, Diva, Panvel and JNPT
Even if CR had to consider the project, it would only be able to ferry small trucks on its route. However, of the 5,000 heavy vehicles that enter Vasai and proceed towards JNPT Port each day, barely 10 per cent are regular trucks. The route is meant to run suburban, long distance trains and goods trains and is not meant for running Ro-Ro services.
Further, it will be difficult to ensure that all the trucks are loaded onto these special bogies at the same time. “Each truck has to complete relevant formalities before being loaded on a train. By that time, they would have reached halfway by road,” the source said.
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