The Hindu Business Line : Focus on increasing capacity of rolling stock

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New Delhi Feb. 26 The Railways plans to take several steps to increase capacity of its rolling stock - both in freight and passenger segment.

In the freight segment, it would acquire lighter wagons, move more double stack containers and try moving triple-stack containers in electrified routes.

With the aim of increasing the volume of freight that each wagon carries, the Indian Railways plans to soon place its first order for stainless steel wagons, which are lighter and have a higher payload to tare weight ratio.

The total loaded wagon weight includes the weight of freight (payload) and the empty wagon weight (tare weight). Thus, for any goods train, given the axle load constraints, higher payload and lower tare weight increases its earning potential.

For open wagons, Railways would now acquire wagons with a payload to tare weight ratio of about 3.28-3.34 against the open wagons in use now, which have a payload to tare ratio of 2.75.

For covered wagons, Railways would acquire wagons with a payload to tare ratio of 3.4 compared to the wagons in use now, which have a ratio of about 2.72. In covered wagons, by using such designs - of higher height and lower width - Railways plans to carry 58 wagons per rake instead of the present level of 40 wagons per rake. This would result in increasing the carrying capacity of a train by 36 per cent, Chairman Railway Board Mr J.P. Batra said.

Once the higher payload to tare ratio wagons are delivered, the Railways' earnings from each wagon is likely to increase.

Railways have also decided to move more double stack container trains on diesel routes. It would also experiment and try to run triple-stack containers on diesel routes and double-stack containers on electrified routes. If successful, it would become the first Railways worldwide to run triple stack containers.

Similarly, in the passenger segment, Railways has decided that all the new AC III tier coaches manufactured would have 81 berths (like those used in the low-cost Garib Rath trains). The AC III tier coaches in use now have 64 berths per coach.