In a move that could revolutionise transport of passenger cars through trains in the country, Indian Railways is in the process of manufacturing a double-decker auto car carrier rake that would take its car-carrying capacity from the present 140 to 270 cars in a single trip. Being undertaken by the Northern Railway, the project envisages conversion of container flat wagons — called BLC — into double-decker auto car-carrier. Currently, the first rake, consisting of 45 wagons, is being converted at the Jagadhri workshop at a cost of Rs 3.4 crore. The modified rake having almost double the carrying capacity could benefit car manufacturers, in terms of both time and transportation costs. Trials of the rake are expected to start shortly.Once ready, these double decker auto car-carrier rakes are likely to be pressed into service on the Delhi-Pune route to cater to Tata Motors’ Indica cars and on the Delhi-Chennai route for Maruti Udyog Limited’s cars. Railways officials said executives from Tata Motors and Maruti Udyog have already examined the modifications being undertaken.Officials involved with the project said each wagon will be fit to carry six cars of B segment, like Maruti 800, Indica and Alto. Each wagon will have two levels, having the capacity to carry three cars each. While the lower deck will have a height of 1,678 mm, making it fit to accommodate tall body B segment cars, such as Santro and Estilo, the top deck will have a height of 1,585 mm allowing it to carry normal height B segment cars, like Maruti, Alto and Indica.The design for this double-decker wagon has been prepared by Indian Railways’ Research Design and Standards Organisation, based at Lucknow. The design ensures that the overall height of the wagon remains at 4,305 mm enabling it to run hassle-free under Over Head Electrical (OHE) lines. In the modified rakes, a provision for ramps has been made on the two end-wagons of the rake for loading and unloading of cars. While loading, the cars would be loaded from one end and driven to the other. Similarly, while unloading, the cars would be driven down the ramp from the other end.
