New Delhi: The Ministry of Railways intends to acquire approximately 60,000 additional wagons at an estimated cost of Rs 25,000 crore to enhance the proportion of freight traffic carried by Indian Railways (IR), Moneycontrol reported.
According to sources, the Ministry of Railways is expected to initiate the tendering process for the procurement of the wagons, including a potential 10,000 wagons made of aluminum, between July and September, the report said.
The ministry is finalising a tender to procure another 50,000 wagons and is also looking to float a separate tender to procure 10,000 aluminium wagons, a senior Railway Ministry official was quoted as saying by Moneycontrol.
These new tenders are part of Indian Railways strategic goal to elevate the current share of freight traffic transported by rail from 27 percent to 45 percent by 2030.
The new tenders are a part of the governments plans to deploy more than 1 lakh wagons in the coming years to increase freight loading to 2,000 million tonnes (MT) by 2024-25, according to the report.
The railways loaded 1,512 MT of freight in 2022-23.
The proposed tender for wagons will further contribute to the Ministry of Railways efforts to enhance its freight transportation capabilities in addition to the previous contracts awarded in June 2022, valued at Rs 23,500 crore, for the supply of 60,000 wagons to Titagarh Wagons, Texmaco Rail Engineering, Hindustan Engineering Industries, Commercial Engineer Body Builders Co, and Oriental Foundry.
Indian Railways aims to increase its freight transportation capacity by incorporating new wagons into its existing stock of approximately 320,000 wagons.
Last year, the railways introduced its first domestically manufactured aluminium goods train rake, developed in collaboration with Besco Limiteds wagons division and Hindalco, a major aluminium producer.
The aluminium rakes not only have a lower carbon footprint but also offer advantages such as an 80 percent resale value and a longer lifespan compared to conventional wagons.
The railways estimates that with the deployment of more than 100,000 wagons in the coming years, the shift to aluminium wagons could potentially lead to an annual CO2 reduction of over 2.5 million tonnes, accounting for a 15 to 20 percent transition.
