Western Railway has always been fully committed to the needs of the people and the country in large. It has ensured to keep the wheels of supply moving even in the difficult times of Covid-19. Essential commodities have been transported to the remotest areas through the parcel special trains.
- Since 23rd March to 6th Dec, 2020, commodities weighing more than 1.94 lakh tonnes have been transported by Western Rly through its 730 parcel special trains, which mainly included agricultural produce, medicines, fish, milk etc.
- According to a press release issued by Shri Sumit Thakur- Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Rly, the revenue generated through this transportation, has been about Rs 66.18 crore.
- During this period, 130 milk special trains were run by Western Rly, with a load of almost 99 thousand tonnes and 100% utilization of the wagons.
- Similarly, 521 Covid-19 special parcel trains with a load of more than 60 thousand tonnes were also run to transport various essential commodities.
- In addition to this, 76 indented rakes carrying about 34 thousand tonnes were also run with almost 100% utilization.
- 3 Kisan Rails with a load of 530 tonnes were also run recently.
- During the period from 22nd March till 6th Dec, 2020, total 23,690 rakes of goods trains have been used by WR to supply essential commodities amounting to 51.99 million tonnes.
- 47,475 freight trains have been interchanged with other zonal railways, in which 23,759 trains were handed over and 23,716 trains taken over at different interchange points.
- On 7th Dec 2020, two Parcel Special trains, including a milk rake left from WR viz.
- Bandra TerminustoJammu Tawi and a milk special from Palanpur to Hind Terminal.
Kisan Rail:
In a bid towards fulfilling the commitment to facilitate farmers, Western Railway has decided to run its 2nd Kisan Rail Parcel Special train to transport their produce under Operation Green as a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. This train will run between Ratlam and New Guwahati for 10 trips as of now. It’s worth mentioning that the 1st Kisan Rail of WR had recently commenced its inaugural run from Laxmibai Nagar near Indore to New Guwahati.
According to a press release issued by Shri Sumit Thakur – Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, the details of this train are as under:
- Train No. 00969 Ratlam – New Guwahati Kisan Rail Parcel Special (Bi-Weekly) will depart from Ratlam at 22.00 hrs every Wednesday and Saturday & will reach New Guwahati at 23.10 hrs the third day.
- This train will run from 5th December, 2020. Similarly, Train No. 00970 New Guwahati – Ratlam Kisan Rail Parcel Special (Bi-Weekly) will depart from New Guwahati at 18.00 hrs every Tuesday and Saturday & will reach Ratlam at 17.20 hrs the third day.
- This train will run from 8th December, 2020.
- Enroute this train will halt at Nagda, Ujjain, Bina, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Chhapra, Hajipur, Katihar, Kishanganj, New Jalpaiguri and Changsari stations in both directions.
About Kisan Rail:
- The Kisan Rail is a part of the Central Government’s commitment to increase the income of farmers.
- It was announced to run the Kisan Rail in the 2020-21 budget, in which perishable agricultural products like vegetables and fruits can be transported in a short time from one city to another.
- Looking at the commercial demand for transportation of onion and Potatoes, as well as perishable fruits and vegetables, it was decided to run ‘Kisan Rail’ special train, under the Operation Green as a part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.
- It will greatly benefit the farmers as they can transport their farm produce at 50% subsidy provided by MoFPI.
- It is worth mentioning that despite toughest challenges during corona lockdown, Western Railway has been running various parcel special trains to transport several types of commodities, in addition to the milk special trains.
- In continuation to these efforts, now WR has started to run its first Kisan parcel special train between Laxmibai Nagar near Indoreand New Guwahati.
- The first trip of this Kisan Rail departed from Lakshmi Nagar on 24th November, 2020 carrying 180 Tonnes of onions.
- The train comprised a total of 20 coaches, with 18 coaches carrying 10 tonnes of onions per coach and 2 coaches have been left empty, for loading enroute stations. This train will have halts at Sant Hirdaram Nagar, Bina, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Chhapra, Hajipur, Katihar, Kishanganj, New Jalpaiguri and Changsari stations in both directions.
Source: Western Railway-Press Release
