Indian Freight Trains

INDIANRAILWAYS

* The effect of INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (2nd half of 18th c to 1st half of 19th c.), Great Britain

* Invention of “Steam engine” by James Watt for railways led to radical changes in transport system all over the world.

* Railways are the convenient mode of transport for long distances.

* Suitable for carrying heavy and bulky goods like. Iron & steel, ores ..

* Carries raw materials from mines and quarries .. and other interior areas of the country to industrial centres.

* Link up the various regions of the economy and increase theoccupational mobility of the people.

* In short, They play a crucial role in the economic development of the nation.

ELEVENTH PLAN ( 2007-12)

- Major initiative in shifting to PPP for building and operation of selected

railway infrastructure.

- Provision of quality passenger amenities at terminals, overall improvement in the sanitation.

- Outsourcing routine activities to private companies.

-Introduction of modern Rolling stock

-Appropriate changes in designs of wagons.

First in India in 1853 from Bombay to Thana.1853 First railway train journeyed distance of 22 miles between Bombay and Thana.Originally, operated by private companies Englishmen.In 1925-1950 GOI took over the all the private railway companies.

Indian Railways is more than 150 year old.

It is largest railway system in world under one management.

It is a lifeline of our country. It is biggest employer in the world

(14,06,430) No strike in last 30 years in spite of

17 lakh workers.

• Monopoly of country’s rail transport• In 1832, a proposal was made to build a railroad between Madras & Bangalore, but it never materialized.• In 1845, two companies formed– East Indian Railway Company operating from Calcutta– Great Indian Peninsula Railway operating from Bombay• On December 22, 1851, first train is operational in India• April 16, 1853, first passenger train introduced between Bombay & Thana (34km) at 3.30 PM.• Railways grows in India with encouragement of the British Government.

• Due to Partition, India lost 40% of its existing rail network.• At independence, 42 rail systems were existing• In 1951, all systems were nationalized as one unit.• Total of 6 zones came into existence in 1952, later extended to 16zones.• In 1985, steam locomotives are phased out.• In 1987, computerisation of reservation first was carried out in Bombay• In 1989, train numbers were standardized to 4 digits.• In 1995, entire reservation system was computerized.• In 1998, Konkan Railway was opened spanning difficult terrain through the Western Ghats.

I. Express TrainsII. Fast PassengerIII. Superfast/MailIV. Deccan OdysseyV. DurontoVI. Garib RathVII. Jan Shatabdi ExpressVIII. Maharaja ExpressIX. Palace on WheelsX. Premium trainXI. Royal Rajasthan on WheelsXII. Rajdhani ExpressXIII. Shatabdi ExpressXIV. Sampark Kranti ExpressXV. The Golden ChariotXVI.Lifeline ExpressXVII.Red Ribbon Express

• Freight– Contributes to 70%of revenues– Last 2 decades, shifted to large container movement.–

Types of Freight Trains

Departmental trains are trains run for internal purposes of the railway, such as track maintenance or conveying equipment. They may be ballast trains or other material trains. Breakdown trains and other special-purpose trains for dealing with accidents are also considered to be departmental trains.

Work trains are trains used for short-distance movements of freight, especially small packages ('smalls') transshipped from long-distance freight trains.

Shunting trains are used for moving wagons to different stations in a section, and are involved only in attaching and detaching such wagons. They are also known as section trains (especially on CR) and pick-up trains elsewhere.

Through goods trains are freight trains transporting goods from one goods yard to the next without stoppage at intermediate points. Long-distance goods, also known as solid trains include various special long-distance freight trains that get precedence, such as the Freight Chief or other Express Goods trains with timetabled operations and guaranteed delivery time (including QTS or Quick Transit Service goods), Jumbo trains, and Sherpa trains. The remainder of the through goods trains, which run at lower precedence, are known as Ordinary Through trains.

What are the typical freight loads carried by IR?

IR carries the entire gamut of goods, ranging from parcel traffic and small consignments, agricultural products, raw materials like iron ore and petroleum, and finished goods like automobiles.

The 'Green Bogey' (Green Bogie) service provides for the transport of perishable agricultural products (fruits and vegetables) in refrigerated and non-refrigerated wagons attached to passenger trains.

How are freight trains scheduled?

Some trains are run as pre-scheduled or timetabled services. The majority of goods trains run as requirements arise. The process of arranging for a goods train to run is known as ordering a goods train. Ordering a goods train involves the issuance of written advice to the yard or station and loco shed that a certain train will run, starting from the station or yard at a certain time and running to a certain schedule. The written advice is known as the Train Notice. The train notice is normally issued at least 3 hours before the advertised departure of the train, so that the rake can be marshalled and the locomotives prepared for the trip. Once the train departs, it is under the control of the section controllers until it reaches the next goods yard (where the next section controller picks it up). Apart from coordinating with station staff for through running on the main or loop lines, normally goods trains run without attention from station staff.

Who carries container traffic in India?

Most rail container traffic in India is handled by CONCOR (the Container Corporation of India) which until recently was the only such organization. CONCOR is a public-sector concern, but it maintains its own fleet of wagons and other assets that are separate from IR's, although the traffic moves on IR's tracks.

Recently [1999] CONCOR has begun running some fast (up to 100km/h) guaranteed delivery container freight trains on certain routes (35 rail corridors have been identified as suitable for such service). The rakes consist of 5-wagon groups of flat cars; the flat cars are low flat cars which allow loading 'Tallboy' containers.

International freight: Are there direct freight trains running between India and neighboring countries?

Freight trains run regularly between India and Pakistan via the Attari (Punjab) - Lahore route. The Munabao - Khokhrapar route is under consideration [2007] for goods traffic (it is currently only used for the Thar Express passenger traffic). Freight trains have also been running regularly between India and Bangladesh on the Gede-Darshana and Petrapole - Benapole routes. Another route connecting India and Bangladesh is Singhbad (India) - Rohanpur (Bangladesh). The Bongaon (India) - Jessore (Bangladesh) direct BG route has been proposed, and needs a 10km link constructed between Akhaura and Agartala. Nepal is connected to India by rail by the Birgunj - Raxaul line.

Classification

IN-BOUND TRAINS - LOCAL TRAINSOUT-BOUND TRAINS - TRAINS CONNECTING TO STATES & OTHER CITIES.

Classification on the basis of Gauges (Rail tracks)

Track Kilometers

Broad Gauge(1676 mm)

Meter Gauge(1000 mm)

Narrow Gauge (762/610 mm) Total

86,526 18,529 3,651 108,706

Route Kilometers

Electrified Total

16,001 63,028

Indian Railways is a multi-gauge, multi-traction system covering the following: 

Broad Gauge

Meter Gauge

NARROW GAUGE

What are CONCOR depots and where are they located?

CONCOR (Container Corporation of India) operates several container depots throughout the country. As of there were 31 Inland Container Depots (ICDs) with facilities for international freight and connected to ports. These are classified based on whether or not they have a Container Freight Station (CFS), and whether they are equipped to handle port freight. A CFS facility allows freight to be loaded / unloaded to or from containers, and aggregated or distributed; at an ICD without a CFS, containers can only be routed to different destinations without being opened and loaded or unloaded.

Marshalling yard :A large railway yard in which freight wagons are

organized into trains.

Any Questions ?

References : http://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-freight.htmlhttp://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-freight.html