First-ever RORO service of South Western Railway flagged off

Bengaluru, August 31, 2020

Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa and Suresh C. Angadi, Union Minister of State of Railways, on Sunday flagged off the first-ever Roll on Roll Off (RORO) service of South Western Railway from Nelamangla near Bengaluru in Karnataka to Bale near Solapur in Maharashtra.

Speaking on the occasion, Yediyurappa said that, with the emphasis on multi-modal connectivity, APMC Markets in the region offer tremendous scope for RORO.

Angadi pointed out that thousands of trucks were plying between Bengaluru and Solapur. With RORO, travel time will be just 17 hours. This trial run got delayed due to COVID

RORO is a concept of carrying road vehicles loaded with various commodities, on open flat railway wagons. RORO services are a combination of the best features of road and rail transports in the sense that they offer door-to-door service with minimal handling transported by fast and direct rail link.

Road transport has the advantage of door-to-door delivery of goods. However, increasing traffic on roads was leading to congestion and delays to passenger vehicles. Besides unsafe travel conditions, delays at interstate check posts due to inspection of various documents, etc. contribute to increased travel time.

On the other hand, Railways provide hassle-free and environmentally friendly transport to medium to the large quantum of freight. Rail transport is the most fuel-efficient of all means of transport and is much safer than the road.

NNN