To provide effective solution of capacity constraints Indian Railways successfully operates two long haul freight trains

New Delhi [India], October 10 : To provide a very effective solution to the problem of capacity constraints in critical sections, the Indian Railways successfully operated two long haul freight trains "Trishul" and "Garuda" for the first time over South Central Railway (SCR), informed the Ministry of Railways on Sunday.
According to the ministry, long-haul trains are twice or multiple times longer than the normal composition of freight trains.
Trishul is SCR's first long haul comprising of three freight trains, i.e., 177 wagons. This train was started on October 7, 2021, from the Kondapalli station of the Vijayawada division to the Khurda division of the East Coast Railway. SCR followed it up with the running of yet another similar one named Garuda on 08.10.2021 from Raichur of Guntakal division to Manuguru of Secunderabad division. In both cases, the long haul trains comprised of empty open wagons for loading of coal meant for predominantly thermal power stations.
SCR is one of the five major freight loading railways on IR. The bulk of SCR's freight traffic moves in certain arterial routes such as Visakhapatnam-Vijayawada-Gudur-Renigunta, Ballarshah-Kazipet-Vijayawada, Kazipet-Secunderabad-Wadi, Vijayawada-Guntur-Guntakal sections. As the bulk of its freight traffic has to pass through these major routes, it is essential for SCR to maximize the throughput available across these critical sections.
Saving of path across congested routes, quicker transit time, maximizing the throughput of critical sections, saving in crews are the major operational benefits of running long haul trains, which help IR serve its freight customers better.