Title - Konkan Rail to introduce sixth rake for RORO service

MANGALORE, JULY 24:
The Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC) will soon introduce sixth rake for its RORO (roll-on roll-off) service.

RORO is a service that enables carrying loaded trucks directly on the railway wagons between two destinations.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, Mr Nandu Telang, Deputy Chief Commercial Manager, KRC, said that the RORO service was started with one rake in 1999. Now it has five rakes in the system.

Considering the good demand from truck operators, KRC is planning to introduce sixth rake on the Konkan Railway route after monsoon.

Earnings via RORO service

KRC, which carried 35,648 trucks through its RORO service in 2011-12, earned Rs 35.64 crore through this.

In spite of economic slowdown during 2008-09 and 2009-10, Konkan Railway earned Rs 22.43 crore and Rs 23.59 crore, respectively through RORO service.

Asked about the earnings forecast for 2012-13, Mr Telang said the corporation wants to earn Rs 40 crore through the service.

The 721-km RORO service between Kolad in Maharashtra and Surathkal in Karnataka takes around 21-24 hours. The truck operator, who makes two trips a week by road between these two destinations, can make three trips a week with the service.

Diesel consumption

On the savings to the nation, he said a RORO service uses around 3,600 litres of diesel by carrying 40 trucks on Kolad-Surathkal stretch.

These 40 trucks together will spend around 10,000 litres of diesel if they use the road to travel this distance. The nation saves around 6,000 litres of diesel with this service, he added.