Ro-Ro scheme to curb traffic mess in Delhi

New Delhi: In a bid to decongest the roads in the national capital, Railways on Thursday launched roll-on roll-off (RO-RO) service from Gurugram to carry loaded trucks on wagons. About 30 loaded trucks were transported on the flat wagons from Garhi Harsaru station in Gurugram to Muradnagar in Uttar Pradesh.

“The RO-RO is a boon for Delhi as it would have a direct impact on its ambient air quality and the capital would breathe clean air,” said railway minister Suresh Prabhu after launching the service.

RO-RO service aims to reduce carbon emission and congestion on the roads of the National Capital Region (NCR) as about 66,000 diesel-guzzling trucks pass through Delhi and its adjoining areas in a day.

According to Railways, there are about 20,000 trucks which are not meant for the NCR, but enter the region to travel further. There are eight entry/exit routes in the NCR which will be utilised for RO-RO service to take the trucks off the road.

It is a win-win situation for truckers as well as for Railways as goods will be transported in a safe and faster way, saving cost on diesel and man-days besides reducing the pollution level, he said.

Besides the Ro-RO service, a series of initiatives were unveiled on Thursday to perk up Railways’ revenue through increase in the freight share and passenger segment. The business plan envisages commissioning 100 new freight terminals, introduction of double stack dwarf containers, and firming up long term agreements with freight customers.

Mr Prabhu said, “The business plan 2017-18 was formulated to cater to the requirement of stakeholders and we have changed the policy after discussion with our customers.”

Taking note of Railways’ falling share, he said: “Normally, a leaf from the tree does not fall like that. The process starts long before the fall. Similarly, the decline in traffic has also started not now, but much before.

“Once Railways was the only option for freight, so it had monopoly. But with changing times, Railways’ share started declining. There are various reasons like economic slowdown on the global stage which affected Indian market also,” the minister said.

Freight earning is two-third of Railways’ total revenue. “However, despite challenging situation, we have managed to improve the loadings. We have created a capacity of 1.2 billion tonnes for cargo,” he noted.

With a height of 12 ft 8 inches, dwarf containers are specially designed keeping the overhead electric wire in mind to carry maximum amount of goods. Notably, double stack containers are generally 17 ft high.