Railway Minister inaugurates India's first aluminium freight rake made from Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated India's first aluminium freight rake -- 61 BOBRNALHSM1 -- at Bhubaneshwar Railway Station on Sunday. The rake's destination is Bilaspur.
An official statement said this was a dedicated effort for Make in India programme as it had been fully designed and developed indigenously in collaboration with Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), HINDALCO and Besco Wagon. Notably, it is first-time aluminium rake has been manufactured in India with the feature of fully lock-bolted construction with no welding on the superstructure. The statement said the tare is also 3.25 tonne lower than normal steel rakes, 180-tonne extra carrying capacity results in higher throughput per wagon. The reduced tare will reduce carbon footprint as lower consumption of fuel in empty direction and more transport of freight in loaded condition, it said. A single rake can save over 14,500 tonne of carbondioxide (CO2) over its lifetime. It has also 80 per cent resale value of the rakes.

It has also mentioned that the cost is 35 per cent higher as the superstructure is all aluminium and lower maintenance cost due to higher corrosion and abrasion resistance properties. These type of wagons have 10 years longer lifespan of rakes as compared to normal rakes.
The statement also mentioned that iron industry consumes a lot of nickel and cadmium, which comes from import. So, the proliferation of aluminium wagons will result in less import. At the same time, this is good for local aluminium industry, it added. (ANI)