What are the typical freight loads carried by IR?

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What are the typical freight loads carried by IR?

June 28, 2019, 11:37 AM

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. Over the last few decades, IR has made an effort to move away from small consignments or piecemeal freight, and to increase the number of block rakes where a shipper contracts for an entire rake assigned to carry a shipment. These are more profitable for IR as the rake does not have to be split up into or amalgamated from individual wagons going to or coming from different points, saving on marshalling time, transit time, and scheduling. Most of IR’s freight revenue now comes from such block rakes carrying bulk goods such as coal or cement. A typical load (full rake) consists of 40 BCN wagons (2200t). Sometimes half loads (mini-rake) of 20 BCN wagons (1100t) are also available for contracts (see below for more on the mini-rake scheme).

In late 2004, some of the specifications for wagon loading were modified, so as to allow greater loads to be carried. For materials such as iron ore, an additional 4t can now be loaded, allowing a BOXN wagon to carry 62t.

Of course, IR does also carry container traffic and also smaller consignments, and there has been talk recently [10/01] of possibly re-entering the piecemeal freight business actively. Some dedicated parcel trains have been introduced. Parcel vans are still used a lot for small consignments; these vans are generally attached to passenger trains. They used to be more numerous in the past, but had been diminishing in importance in the 1980s and 1990s as IR focused on larger loads of freight.

[4/00] High-capacity parcel vans (‘Green Parcel Vans’) have been used in special-purpose rakes intended for carrying fruits and vegetables. The high-capacity parcel van carries 23t as opposed to the ordinary parcel van which carries 18t of goods. Single high-capacity parcel vans have been seen attached to passenger trains (e.g., GT, Lokshakti and Karnataka Exps., Saurashtra Mail, Flying Ranee); the vans are marked ‘Blue Parcel Service’ and have a dark-blue livery. Recently [1/03] new parcel vans formed by converting old general passenger stock (GS coaches) have been spotted at various places. These are being used for transporting cars and other automobiles.

Refrigerated parcel van service is available on a few sections. One such service proposed [2/03] for the Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram Jan Shatabdi will have a refrigerated parcel van that can accommodate 5t of frozen goods at -20C and 12t of chilled goods at +4C. This coach, manufactured by RCF, has a maximum allowable speed of 130km/h and has a diesel-powered refrigeration unit that can run for 15 days without refuelling. Similar services are expected to be introduced on most major routes. RCF plans to produce 9 of these refrigerated vans in 2003. CR and WR are also introducing such services. Now [10/04] IR has around 10 of these new design refrigerated vans.

In addition, a mini-rake scheme has been introduced [7/03] where loads smaller than full freight rakes (usually half-size, i.e., 20 wagons, also known as half rakes) are booked for transport by IR at full train-load prices, for distances up to about 300km with connecting services for transshipment to road transport. Not only is the half-rake service more convenient for many industrial concerns, the number of sidings at goods sheds and transshipment points where half-rakes can be loaded or unloaded is much larger than the number of sidings where full rakes can be handled.

Bulk freight transport rates also vary based on the number of times a rake may be loaded or unloaded. A so-called two-point rake is one that can be loaded or unloaded at two points, usually a half-rake at a time, at approved combinations of two loading or unloading locations.

Some freight rakes are used continuously in dedicated operations over a closed loop journey. These are known as closed-circuit rakes, and typically consist of 40 BCN or BCNA wagons (cement), or 58 BOXN wagons (coal), or 48 BTPN tankers (petroleum products). Much of the bulk goods movement of SCR, for instance, occurs on such closed-circuit rakes. These rakes are often also subjected to a more rigorous maintenance regime, known as the super-intensive examination, and have brake power certificates (BPC) issued for 6000km / 35 days at a time.

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.

There are a few other timetabled and guaranteed delivery time parcel operations run by IR, such as the ‘Tej Shree Parcel Sewa’ services (introduced [9/09]) run by NR between Patel Nagar (earlier, Tughlakabad) to Vapi and to Howrah. The parcel trains run on the allocated route, and customers can book parcel vans (‘VP’) for attachment/detachment at specified stations along the route.

Source – IFRCA.org

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