First Trial Run of Double Stack Train conducted on newly built Rewari-Madar section of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC)

An inaugural Trial-Run of Indian Railways (IR) freight train on the newly built Rewari-Madar section of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), covering a distance of about 306 kms (Total 663 track Km) was conducted today (i.e. 27.12.2019). The trial run was flagged off from New Kishangarh Station by Station Sr. Executive Sh. Ravindra Sharma in the presence of Sh. Anurag Sachan, Managing Director, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation India Limited (DFCCIL).

The Rewari-Madar section is in Haryana State (for approximately 79 Km in Mahendragarh & Rewari districts) and Rajasthan State (for approximately 227 Km in Jaipur, Ajmer, Sikar, Nagaur & Alwar districts). This section contains 16 major bridges and viaduct (1 viaduct & 15 major bridges), 270 minor bridges, 4 Rail Fly Overs, 19 Road Over Bridges (11 completed and 8 under construction) & 178 Road Under Bridges eliminating 148 Level crossings. There are 9 newly built DFC stations in this section, six crossing stations (i.e. New Dabla, New Bhagega, New Sri Madhopur, New Pachar Malikpur, New Sakun and New Kishangarh) and three junction stations (i.e. New Rewari, New Ateli and New Phulera).

DFCCIL will run freight trains at the maximum speed of 100 Kmph hour as against the current maximum speed of 75 kmph on Indian Railway tracks whereas the average speed of freight trains will also be increased from existing speed of 26 kmph on Indian Railways lines to 70 kmph on Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC).

Cost

Total cost of works on this section is Rs. 3918 Crore, excluding land.

Industrial Areas likely to benefit

The opening of this stretch will benefit various industries in Rewari – Manesar, Narnaul, Phulera & Kishangarh areas of Rajasthan & Haryana. In addition to this, the container depot of CONCOR at Kathwas will also come on DFC map and get advantage in terms of faster throughput.

Highpoints

  • Heavy haul train operation with 32.5 Ton axle load has been envisaged for the first time in India (currently practiced only in USA, Canada, Brazil, Australia, China, Russia South-Africa and Sweden-Norway)
  • Double stack containers
  • Double line electric (2 X 25 KV) track to undertake higher haulage at higher speeds
  • Automated New Track Construction (NTC) machine with record single day track laying of more than 3 km.
  • More Powerful Locomotives 7000 kW (9000 HP) CO-CO 6 axles
  • High rise Over Head Equipment (OHE) of 7.4 meter height (existing IR OHE 5.5 m) for double stack container movement on flat wagons
  • Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) for safe and efficient operation
  • Elimination of road crossing
  • Connecting Multi Modal Logistic Hubs and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor
  • Water Conservation through Rainwater harvesting in all the stations and RUBs (road under bridge)
  • Reduced Energy Consumption using latest technology
  • Recycling and Re-use – Construction materials and Waste management
  • Green Initiatives – developed as “Low Carbon & Energy Efficient Green Transportation” with reduce GHG emissions w.r.t. freight transportation by existing rail and road system
  • Exclusive operation for freight trains.

After having successfully run Track Recording Car of RDSO on 20th and 22nd October 2019 and Oscillation trials of BOXNS Wagons at 110 Kmph, trial runs are being conducted on the DFCCIL tracks. These wagons have a Tare weight i.e. own weight of 19.85 ton and a carrying capacity of 80.15 ton. These wagons have 14% more weight carrying capacity than the wagons being currently used on Indian Railways. The DFCCIL infrastructure is well placed to utilise the carrying capacity of these wagons. Currently, Indian Railways freight trains can carry 61 -71 ton weight per wagon at an approximate speed of 60 kmph. The newer, advanced wagons can carry weights upto 81 ton per wagon at an approximate speed of 100 kmph. The newer wagons are safer and modern too.

Trial runs of BLCS-A and BLCS-B wagon prototype have also ensued. These wagons have enhanced axle load of 25 ton and been designed for DFCCIL by RDSO’s wagon department. The design will maximize capacity utilization and uniform distributed and point loading. These wagons on a long-haul double stack container train on the WDFC can carry 4 times in terms of container units compared to the current traffic on Indian Railways.