International Railway Journal - October 2008 - (Page 46) India High-wire challenge solved Successful trials of a high-reach pantograph under 7.45m-high catenary in India have confirmed the viability of running double-stack container trains on electrified lines, says Indian Railways board member, electrical, Sukhbir Singh. As a result IR will electrify its new western dedicated freight corridor. I NDIAN Railways (IR) has witnessed a remarkable surge in freight traffic in the last three decades. Traffic has increased by about 400% from 197 million tonnes in 1981-82 to 794 million in 2007-08, and another 40% increase is expected by 2011-12 to reach 1100 million tonnes. Most of this traffic will be on the Delhi - Kolkata and Delhi - Mumbai main lines. However, these routes are already saturated and utilisation of line capacity is now running at around 130%. IR’s decision to construct dedicated freight corridors (DFC) is seen as the most effective solution to meet the everincreasing traffic on these routes. The proposed eastern and western DFCs will segregate passenger and freight traffic, maximising line capacity to accommodate the increased traffic in years to come. To further enhance the throughput, IR has also decided to use 30-tonne axleload wagons and doublestack containers (DSC) on these corridors. The Eastern Corridor will consist of an 866km double-track electrified section from Sonnagar to Dadri and a 412km single-track electrified section from Khurja to Ludhiana. It will primarily carry coal from the eastern coalfields to power stations in the northern and western regions, finished steel, grain, cement, fertiliser, limestone, and general freight. The 1483km double-track Western Corridor will run from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) to Dadri, where the two corridors meet. It will handle ISO containers from west coast ports to inland container depots (ICD) in the north. IR has witnessed a steady increase in container traffic originating from western ports with annual growth of around 20%. This traffic is likely to increase to 14 million TEU per year in the next 10 years. Worldwide analysis An analysis of container transport on other railways around the world showed that North American, Australian and Chinese railways are using well wagons on their standardgauge lines to move DSCs. However, we decided to adopt DSCs on flat wagons due to their better fuel economy as they weigh 7 to 8 tonnes less, have a 50% increased throughput per rake, and create less air drag due to the small gap between wagons compared with well wagons. In addition flat wagons are more stable than well wagons on broadgauge tracks. IR has been running DSC trains since the first train with 180 TEUs was flagged off by the minister of railways on March 23 2006 from the ICD at Kanakpura (Jaipur). Although IR is running DSC trains using 8ft 6in high containers, it now able to carry 9ft 6in containers which require a maximum moving dimension (MMD) of 3.66m wide and 7.1m high. Keeping in mind the projected level of traffic on both corridors, the choice of traction had to be based on the minimum per unit operating cost to achieve the best overall fuel economy. Electric traction, being a green mode of transport, was the most viable solution due to: the optimum requirement for locomotives better rate of acceleration higher average speed leading to enhanced line capacity lower repair and maintenance costs, and no dependency on imported crude oil thereby saving foreign exchange and earning carbon credits under the Kyoto protocol for the energy regenerated. Besides, the capital cost of electrification will be paid back within the shortest time as a result of the energy savings. A detailed study for IR by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) recommended electrification of both corridors, on account of energy security, energy costs, maintenance cost, financial analysis, and environmental aspects. However, IR decided to first prove the feasibility of running electric 46 IRJ October 2008
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