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Truck-on-train (TOT) service enables the transportation of trucks and milk tankers on specially designed wagons. It was launched on September 18, 2023 on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor and operates between Rewari in Haryana and Palanpur in Gujarat.
The service significantly reduces transportation costs and time, traffic congestion and air pollution, among other benefits.
Officials said about a year after the launch, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) wrote to the Railway Board seeking more wagons to tap its growing commercial potential, and has been complying with the request since then. However, the Railway Board has not been able to complete it yet.
Industry sources said the TOT service requires a specially designed flat multi-purpose (FMP) wagon, which is currently being manufactured and deliveries are expected to begin early next year.
“At present, we are using bogie rail wagon for TOT services. It is also a flat wagon, but FMP is multi-purpose and suits the DFCCIL business model,” said a board official.
Currently, in the TOT service, 30 trucks are loaded onto a goods train every day at Palanpur and transported to Rewari through the corridor, covering a distance of 630 kilometers in about 12 hours.
Once the products have been delivered, the empty trucks are loaded onto a train to return to the starting point.
“Of the 30 (trucks), 25 are milk tankers that come by road from Amul Dairy in Banas to Palanpur loading point. The other five trucks carry various products like vegetables, machinery, diesel oil etc,” a DFCCIL official said.
He further added, “We add a special coach to the goods train for drivers who take 12 hours of rest during the journey. 25 tankers, after unloading at Rewari, are taken by road to Prithla in Faridabad, where Amul has another dairy to pack milk and other dairy products.”
According to officials, earlier these tankers used to reach Prithla from Banas Dairy in 30 hours. However, the freight corridor has reduced travel time by approximately 20 hours, ensuring that the quality of milk remains as good as it was at the time of loading.
Describing the initiative as a “game-changer” for the logistics sector, officials said railways generally face challenges such as limited first and last mile connectivity, minimum consignment requirements and customer concerns regarding high-value freight movement, but the TOT model provides immediate solutions to address these issues.
“This intermodal approach not only saves transit time but also reduces road congestion, enhances the quality of life of drivers by ensuring adequate comfort and most importantly, reduces carbon emissions,” he said.
“We have demand from various industries to operate similar TOT service from other destinations and we are waiting for the FMP wagons,” said a DFCCIL official.