RO - RO in Indian Railways

  

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:   

1. Decongest the Roads 

2. Saving cost of Diesel 

3. Saving Man days  

4. Reducing the pollution levels  

5. Relief to Truck Drivers  

6. Decrease in wear and tear of Trucks  

7. Reach faster to Destination 

8. 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:  

1. Railway Receipt will be issued through TMS 

2. Defined as New commodity in IRCA Goods Tariff No.49 (Part I of Vol.I) Group No.22 

3. Gross Weight of the Truck (Tare weight of Truck + Commodity Weight) - shall not exceed the PCC - Permissible Carrying Capacity of a particular Wagon. 

4. Excluded commodities:  

1. All commodities under the Main Head “Coal & Coke” 

2. Iron ore (all types) 

3. Military Traffic 

5.   Subject to levy of ODC - Over Dimensional Consignment charges, Power Block as and where applicable 

6.  Allowed as “TO and FRO” service  

7. Number of trips per month for each rake - decided by the Zonal Railway  

8. Penalty 5% on the Notional freight - If there is a shortfall in the minimum trips 

9. Force Majeure clause is applicable 

10. Free time - 3 Hours each  - At loading and unloading point. 

11. Demurrage and wharfage shall be levied as per extant rules. 

12. 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. 

13. Line Capacity & RO RO ;  

•  Up to 70%  - Shall be introduced. 

•  70% and above - Shall be examined on case to case basis 

14.  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.  

15. A full train of BRN Wagons would have 43 Wagons.  

16. 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: 

1. RO - RO stands for Roll On - Roll - Off

2. First time in India - Konkan Railway - 1999 

3. First time in IR - ECR in 2016 

4. PCC stands for Permissible Carrying Capacity 

5. ODC stands for Over Dimensional Capacity 

6. Penalty - 5% on Notional freight - If there is a shortfall in the number of minimum trips. 

7. Free time - 3 Hours at the Loading and unloading point. 

8. Line Capacity & RO RO ;  Up to 70%  - Shall be introduced. 70% and above - Shall be examined on case to case basis

9. Maximum persons allowed along with Truck - 2 Persons (including Driver)  

10. BRN / BRNA stands for Bogie Rail Truck with Airbrake 

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