Salem division’s first parcel cargo express train chugs out

Coimbatore: The Salem railway division’s first exclusive parcel cargo express train service was flagged off from the city north railway station on Saturday morning.
The 15-coach train left for Patel Nagar in West Delhi, where it would reach on Monday night. It would stop in Tirupur, Erode, Salem, Renigunta and Nagpur on the way. The train would operate on every Saturday.
From Patel Nagar, it would commence the return journey on Wednesday early morning and reach the city on Friday night.
Parcel cargo express trains are designed to carry finished goods, have more width and length compared to goods trains and travel at a higher speed. An official said they won’t be ferrying materials like cement, rice and other items in gunny bags in the train.
The train was flagged off by Salem divisional railway manager Subba Rao and senior divisional commercial manager E Harikrishnan.
The train is leased to a private company for six years. The rain could carry 353 tonnes cargo. Each coach has a capacity to carry 23 tonnes. The guard’s coach could accommodate another eight tonnes. Every trip would fetch the railways Rs 26.8 lakh.
The Salem railway division had earlier floated tenders for parcel cargo express trains, which will be operated on a fixed schedule, from Coimbatore to Patel Nagar, Rajkot and Jaipur, and from Vanjipalayam to Guwahati.
Harikrishnan said, “A single company has taken the tender to operate it to Patel Nagar and Rajkot. The service to Rajkot will begin in another two weeks.” He said the parcel cargo service has more than tripled this year, compared to last year. “We have sent 194 parcel cargo coaches from the division between April and July, as against 59 last year.”
Officials also unveiled the plans to promote the city north railway station as the primary freight station. “We want textile units and makers of pumps, grinders, automotives and machineries to make use of the new service we offer. We can even run these trains to any destination daily, if we have business. We are speaking to industrial associations in the city to promote the new service,” another railway official said.