Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off India’s First Aluminum Freight Rake (BOBRNALHSM1 Wagon Rake) at Bhubaneswar Railway Station, today. This Train has gone to Bilaspur from Bhubaneswar.
Briefing the media, Shri Vaishnaw said that, this is a significant milestone in India’s modernisation drive in mass transportation. Switching to aluminum significantly shrinks carbon footprint for Indian Railways. A single rake of Aluminum Freight Train can save over 14,500 tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime. The silvery-white metal is the preferred choice for metro trains worldwide. This is lighter, cost-efficient and durable. This is an ambitious plan to modernise freight transportation and enable large carbon savings for Indian Railways, added Shri Vaishnaw.
Shri Vaishnaw also said that, these aluminum wagons will help to achieve this target with over 10% increase in payload while significantly lowering the carbon footprint in line with our vision to build a green and efficient railway network.
This Freight Train Rake is developed by Hindalco. The gleaming rakes are 180 tonnes lighter than existing steel rakes and can carry 5-10% more payload, consume less energy with relatively negligible wear and tear to rolling stock and rails.
The bottom discharge aluminum freight wagon, specifically designed to carry coal, is tipped to reduce the carbon footprint measurably. For every 100 kg weight reduction of the wagon, the lifetime CO2 saving is 8-10 tonnes. This translates to a saving of more than 14,500 tonnes of CO2 for a single rake.
Shri Vaishnaw also reviewed the Railway Projects of Odisha with Railway officials.
ECoR General Manager (I/C) Shri Sharad Kumar Srivastava, Divisional Railway Manager/Khurda Road Shri Rinkesh Roy, Principal Head of Departments of ECoR, Senior Railway Officials along with Shri Satish Pai, Managing Director, Hindalco Industries were graced the occasion at Bhubaneswar Station.
