India's first indigenously developed aluminium freight rake with additional carrying capacity was rolled out at Bhubaneswar Station yesterday (16 October).

Flagged off by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the rake is 180 tonnes lighter than the existing steel rakes, resulting in increased speed and lower power consumption for the same distance.

“This is a proud moment for the country and our drive for indigenisation as these lightweight aluminium wagons are a big innovation for the Indian Railways,” Vaishnaw said after launching the rake.

The aluminium rake will reach Bilaspur in the inaugural service.

With fully lock-bolted construction with no welding on superstructure, the rake has 180 tonne additional carrying capacity resulting in higher throughput per wagon.

The tare (weight of the packaging material or container) is 3.25 tonnes which is lower than normal steel rakes, the aluminium rake will have reduced carbon footprint.

The lifetime carbon saving was eight to 10 tonnes and this meant, saving more than 14,500 tonnes of carbon for a single rake, according to the Indian Railways.

Aluminium rakes have several advantages over traditional ones. It is a dedicated effort for the Make in India programme as it has been fully designed and developed indigenously in collaboration with RDSO, Hindalco and Besco Wagon.

With the higher payload, the aluminium rake is 35 per cent costlier than the steel rake

However, the maintenance cost is less than the steel body wagons due to higher corrosion and abrasion resistance.