RO - RO in Indian Railways
RO - RO stands for Roll On - Roll Off
What is RO RO ? A service to carry loaded trucks on Railway Wagons powered by Electrical Engines in order to decongest Roads. It is a service where trucks and cars ride piggyback on specially designed Wagons.
Win-win situation for truckers as well as for Railways
Advantages:
Decongest the Roads
Saving cost of Diesel
Saving Man days
Reducing the pollution levels
Relief to Truck Drivers
Decrease in wear and tear of Trucks
Reach faster to Destination
Last mile connectivity
First in IR: ECR - East Central Railway proposed across the Ganga river
Govt of India has accorded in-principle approval to the ECR’s proposal
Section 32 of the Railways Act, 1989 - Railway Administration is vested with the power to quote STS - Station to Station rates / Lump Sum rates for carriage of any commodity.
Salient features:
Railway Receipt will be issued through TMS
Defined as New commodity in IRCA Goods Tariff No.49 (Part I of Vol.I) Group No.22
Gross Weight of the Truck (Tare weight of Truck + Commodity Weight) - shall not exceed the PCC - Permissible Carrying Capacity of a particular Wagon.
Excluded commodities:
All commodities under the Main Head “Coal & Coke”
Iron ore (all types)
Military Traffic
Subject to levy of ODC - Over Dimensional Consignment charges, Power Block as and where applicable
Allowed as “TO and FRO” service
Number of trips per month for each rake - decided by the Zonal Railway
Penalty 5% on the Notional freight - If there is a shortfall in the minimum trips
Force Majeure clause is applicable
Free time - 3 Hours each - At loading and unloading point.
Demurrage and wharfage shall be levied as per extant rules.
Maximum persons allowed - 2 (including truck driver). They have to purchase 2nd class tickets for the journey of equivalent value as per the coaching tariff.
Line Capacity & RO RO ;
Up to 70% - Shall be introduced.
70% and above - Shall be examined on case to case basis
BRN Wagons - A type of Flat wagon built solely for transporting Trucks on Railway wagons. Trucks are loaded through the ramp provided at the dead end of the loop on BRN wagons.
A full train of BRN Wagons would have 43 Wagons.
BRN / BRNA stands for Bogie Rail Truck with Airbrake
Roll on - Roll Off & Konkan Railways
1999 - The first of its kind in India, allowed loaded trucks to be transported on Railway Wagon flatcars.
There is NH-66 passing through the same route. Truck drivers find it extremely difficult to drive loaded trucks through ghats, undulating surfaces, narrow roads, and poor road and weather conditions. The KRCL came up with the concept of RORO, where loaded trucks are moved on wagons and traveled by train.
Key Points for MCQ:
RO - RO stands for Roll On - Roll - Off
First time in India - Konkan Railway - 1999
First time in IR - ECR in 2016
PCC stands for Permissible Carrying Capacity
ODC stands for Over Dimensional Capacity
Penalty - 5% on Notional freight - If there is a shortfall in the number of minimum trips.
Free time - 3 Hours at the Loading and unloading point.
Line Capacity & RO RO ; Up to 70% - Shall be introduced. 70% and above - Shall be examined on case to case basis
Maximum persons allowed along with Truck - 2 Persons (including Driver)
BRN / BRNA stands for Bogie Rail Truck with Airbrake
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Wagon Leasing Scheme
Objects:
Develop a strong wagon leasing market
Encouraging third party leasing of Wagons
To bring in Wagons of better designs
Leasing - Types of Wagons:
HCW - High Capacity Wagons
SPW - Special Purpose Wagons
Wagons for Container Movement
Leasing of Wagons to the following agencies:
End users: for HCW & SPW
Operators: Type of Wagons as permitted under concession
WLC - Wagon Leasing Company - Eligibility conditions
An entity registered in India under the Companies Act, 1956
Asset leasing business experience either in India or Abroad - 5 years (Amendment 1 of Master Circular dated 28.03.2022)
Net worth - at least 100 Crores
WLC Registration
Registered with the Ministry of Railways
One time Non-refundable registration fee - Rs. 5 Crores
Registration is valid for 35 years
Procurement of Wagons by WLC
Directly from Wagon Manufacturers / through Imports
Under intimation to Ministry of Railways (subject to fulfillment of all other conditions stipulated under this policy) - Amendment 1 of Master Circular dated 28.03.2022
New Design of Wagons (Not in operation so far in IR) - Procurement with prior administrative & technical approval of MOR - Ministry Of Railways
Block Rake Composition: Prescribed No of Wagons + 4% spare + 1 Brake van
The Brake van of the rake purchased by the WLC - added to the General pool of IR brake vans. In exchange, IR will meet the operational requirements of providing brake vans to the WLC’s rakes for which it has procured.
Leasing Contracts:
Bi-partite agreements between the WLC and the Lessee. IR will not have any responsibility or liability except to the extent set forth in the Master Circular.
On receipt of an advice of termination of Lease from the Lessee - IR will act and cease to make wagons available to the Lessee and hold such idle leased wagons in its custody awaiting further nomination of a lessee by the WLC.
On receipt of advice of termination of lease from the lessee - IR will not act
Subleasing - Not permitted
Stabling charges paid or not by the WLC
Yes - If wagons are terminated on the advice of WLC and hold such wagons in custody of IR on IR owned Railway lines.
Yes - If WLC advises IR to move idle leased wagons from one terminal to another terminal/siding
No - If Leased Wagons are held in the private sidings of WLC or Lessee or any other Private siding selected by WLC
Maintenance of Wagons of WLC:
By Indian Railways on Payment
Lien by Railways:
WLC - Exercised lien on Leased wagons - to recover dues from the WLC, in case of default
Lessee - Exercised lien on the consignment loaded in the leased wagons - to recover dues from the Lessee, in case of default
Dispute Resolution:
All disputes (of Agreements of Zonal Railways) will be referred to an Arbitrator nominated by the GM of the Zonal Railway
Key points for MCQ:
WLC Registration - valid for 35 years
Non refundable Registration fees(one time) -Rs.5 Crores
Block Rake Composition: Prescribed No of Wagons + 4% spare + 1 Brake van
HCW - High Capacity Wagon: Wagons with payload -2.0 tonnes higher than the payload of extant similar wagons on IR for 25 T or 22.9 T axle load route, as the case may be.
Lessor: A WLC engaged in the business of leasing wagons to the Lessee.
SPW - Special Purpose Wagon : Wagons designed for rail transportation of a specific commodity or group of commodities.
Abbreviations:
WLS: Wagon Leasing Scheme
MOR: Ministry Of Railways
IR: Indian Railways
WLC: Wagon Leasing Company
HCW: High Capacity Wagons
SPW: Special Purpose Wagons
LWIS: Liberalized Wagon Investment Scheme
CTO: Container Train Operators
SFTO: Special Freight Train Operator
AFTO: Automobile Freight Train Operator
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DEARNESS ALLOWANCE - Employees
Dearness Allowance (DA) is granted to employees to meet the increased cost of living due to inflation.
The rate of DA is decided based on the CPI-IW Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (All India)- prepared by the Labour Ministry
DA is calculated on the Basic pay of the employee.
Every year DA rates will be revised TWO times i.e. on 1st January and 1st July.
A fraction of 50 paise is ignored and more than 50 paise is rounded off to the next higher rupee.
In the case of Running staff, DA is calculated on Basic Pay + 30% of Basic pay.
In the case of Railway Doctors, DA is calculated on Basic Pay + 20% of Basic Pay.
The present rate of DA is 46% with effect from 01.07.2023.
DEARNESS RELIEF - Pensioners
Dearness Relief (DR) is paid on pension/Family pension.
It is calculated on the Basic Pension of the employee.
Every year DR rates will be revised TWO times i.e. on 1st January and 1st July.
The present rate of DR is 46% with effect from 01.07.2023.
Questions:
What DA is granted to the Government employees?
The rate of DA is revised based on…………………………………………….
How many times is DA revised annually?
In the case of Running staff, DA is calculated on Basic Pay + 30% of Basic pay.
In the case of Railway Doctors, DA is calculated on Basic Pay + 20% of Basic Pay.
What is the present DA/DR with effect from 01.07.2023?
To whom Dearness Relief is paid?
Answer:
To meet the increased cost of living due to inflation.
Consumer Price Index -Industrial Workers (All India) - prepared by the Labour Ministry
Twice. On 1st January & 1 st July
30%
20%
46%
To the pensioners and family Pensioners
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