WR keeps the wheels moving for supply of essential commoditie

Introduce 16 trips of three parcel express trains to various locations

During the lockdown period in the wake of COVID19, it is very
important to transport essential items like medical supplies, medical
equipment, food and others in small parcel sizes. To mitigate the difficulties
to a certain extent, Western Railway has come forward and decided to open
transportation of these essential items. Accordingly, time table of 3 such
Parcel Express trains has been declared by Western Rly, making total 16 trips
during the period from 31st March to 15th April, 2020.



As stated by Alok Kansal- General Manager of Western Rly, for
more such Parcel Express trains interested parties may contact parcel offices
and Divisions to register their indents. Movement will be by parcel trains
point to point as per extent rules. WR has finalized the time table for 3
Parcel Express trains for commodities such as Milk Product, Edible Oil, Spices,
Groceries and Biscuits as under :-



● Bandra Terminus – Ludhiana Parcel Special Rake



The Parcel Special Rake has been planned to run from Bandra
Terminus in Mumbai, Maharashtra to Ludhiana in Punjab. This train will run
thrice a week on the timetabled path. The trip of the train will depart from
Bandra Terminus on 1st, 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th& 13th April, 2020 at 20.00 hrs
and will reach Ludhiana on the 3rd day  I.e 3rd April, 2020 at 11.30 hrs
and so on for subsequent trips, completing a journey of 1705 kms.



On its return journey, the train will leave from Ludhiana on
3rd, 5th, 8th, 10th, 13th& 15th April, 2020 at 23.30 hrs and will reach
Bandra Terminus on 3rd day I.e on 5th April, 2020 at 17.30 hrs and so on for
subsequent trips. The train will halt at Vapi, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand,
Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Jaipur, Delhi and Ambala stations in both directions.



For booking and any other queries in this regard interested
traders may please contact Suresh Mishra – Bandra – 9892972171, Rambali
-Vapi-7984600765, Ganesh Jadhav- Udhna/Surat-9724099958.



● Kankariya – Sankrail Goods Terminal Parcel Special Rake



The  Parcel Special Rake has been planned to run from
Kankariya in Gujarat to Sankrail in West Bengal. The train will depart from
Kankariya on 31st March, 2020 at 23.45 hrs and will reach Sankrail Goods
Terminal on 2nd April, 2020 at 20.00 hrs completing a journey of 2073 kms. On
its return journey, the train will leave from Sankrail Goods Terminal on 4th
April, 2020 at 22.30 hrs and will reach Kankariya on 6th April, 2020 at 18.15
hrs.



The train will halt at Anand, Vadodara, Surat, Paldhi,
Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Nagpur, Raipur, Bilaspur, Jharsuguda, Raurkela, Tata Nagar
and Kharagpur stations in both directions. For booking and any other query
intersted parties may please contact Ganesh Jadhav-Udhna/ Surat -9724099958.



● Karambeli – Changsari Parcel Special Rake



The next Parcel Special Rake has been planned to run from
Karambeli in Gujarat to Changsari in Assam. The train will depart from
Karambeli on 2nd April, 2020 at 18.00 hrs and will reach Changsari on 5th
April, 2020 at 5.00 hrs. completing a journey of 2893 kms. On its return
journey, the train will leave from Changsari on 6th April, 2020 at 12.00 hrs
and will reach Karambeli on 8th April, 2020 at 21.30 hrs.



The train will halt at Valsad, Udhana, Jalgaon, Akola,
Nagpur, Durg, Raipur, Bilaspur, Jharsuguda, Tata Nagar, Sankrail Goods
Terminal, Dankuni, Malda Town and New Bongaigoan stations in both directions.
For booking and any other queries interested traders may please contact Sanjay
Kota- Karambeli – 8160209142, Sarkawala -Valsad – 9898848919 and Ganesh Jadhav-
Udhna/ Surat -9724099958.



Few more suggested paths can be Ahmedabad to Darbhanga/
Muzaffarpur. These probable paths are under consideration and can be finalised
subjected to local administration permits movement of trucks and labour
handling at originating and terminating points. Talks with concerned traders
are also going on in this regard.



Discussion have been done with M/s CTA Logistics, Western
carriers, both Ahmedabad, AMUL products, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing
Federation Ltd. (GCMMF) and Mint logistics Karambele, Vapi for loading of
parcels for Time Tabled parcel trains.



During lock down period in the country Mechanical Carriage
and Works Dept of Ratlam division has done exemplary work in making the 108
wagons Fit for loading and also carry out the Overhauling work of 14 wagons. In
addition to it, for the unintertupted movement of Goods trains 16 trains have
been examined during the complete lock down period with available, dedicated
and committed manpower at Wagon Depot, Shambhupura in Ratlam division.



Despite cancellation of passenger services, the goods
services hasn’t come to a total halt and the Railway is ensuring through all
possibilities to maintain the supply of essential commodities across all parts
of country by making sure that the movement of freight trains takes place so that
coal reaches the power houses, food grains are available in the granaries and
all essential commodities are available.



Here are some other efforts made by Western Railway during
the lockdown period from 22nd to 29th March, 2020:



● A total of 422 rakes have been used to supply essential
commodities such as POL (Petroleum, Oil & Lubricants), salt, cement, coal
and containers were loaded amounting to 0.86 million tonnes.

● During the period 1115 freight trains were interchanged
with other railways including 555 trains handed over and 560 trains had taken
over at different interchange points.

● Despite shortage of labour, all efforts are being made to
unload important stock.

●   During this period, 6 Millennium Parcel rakes of
Parcel Vans/Railway Milk Tankers (RMTs) have been sent to different parts of
the country to cope the demands of essential items such as ,milk powder, liquid
milk and other general consumer goods and 1 rake of dry grass:

● –          Ex
Dahanu Road to Bhimsen

● –          Ex
Kakariya to Bhimsen near Kanpur

● –          Ex
Palanpur to Hind Terminal (Palwal)

● –          Ex
Karambeli to New Guwahati



According to a press release issued by WR CPRO Ravinder
Bhakar, despite facing total losses over Western Railway up to 29th March, 2020
has been pegged at Rs 178.53 Cr (inclusive of suburban+ non-suburban), Western
Railway has also successfully refunded Rs. 131.43 crores against cancellation
of tickets and in Mumbai Division itself refund of Rs. 62.11 crores has been
made.



In another great initiative, Western Railway has decided to
contribute to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund under the directives
received from Railway Board. Every railway servant will make their contribution
to the fund by donating their one day’s basic pay from the salary. It is also
noteworthy to mention that suitable monitoring of all activities &
arrangements are being carried out by the Principal Heads of Departments along
with their teams to cope with the situation and to ensure smooth implementation
of all plans.