Ashwini Vaishnaw flags off India’s first Aluminum freight train rake from Bhubaneswar railway station

Bhubaneswar: India’s First Aluminum Freight Rake was flagged off by Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at Bhubaneswar Railway Station on Sunday.

A single rake of Aluminum Freight Train can save over 15,000 tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime.

It is an ambitious plan to modernise freight transportation and enable large carbon savings for Indian Railways.

Stating that it is a significant milestone in India’s modernisation drive in mass transportation, Vaishnaw stated that switching to aluminium significantly shrinks carbon footprint for Indian Railways.

These aluminium wagons will help to achieve the target with over 10 percent increase in payload while significantly lowering the carbon footprint in line with our vision to build a green and efficient railway network, he added.

Developed by Hindalco, this gleaming rakes are 180 tonnes lighter than existing steel rakes and can carry 5-10 percent more payload, consume less energy with relatively negligible wear and tear to rolling stock and rails.

The bottom discharge aluminium 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.