Mangaluru :

This Republic Day, the innovative Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro) service of Konkan Railway will complete 16 years of successful operation.

The Ro-Ro service has earned Konkan Railway Rs 53.31 crore in 2014-15 up to December as compared to Rs 47.4 crore in corresponding period in the previous year. More than 40,000 trucks were carried through Ro-Ro service in 2014-15 up to December.

Konkan Railways came up with the innovative Ro-Ro service service in 1999 whereby loaded goods trucks are carried piggy back on railway flat wagons. This service is unique only to Konkan Railways.

The popularity of the service can be seen from the fact that about four lakh goods trucks have been carried by this service in the past 16 years. The service has helped the railways get back the piecemeal traffic which had got diverted to the road sector.

The service benefits truck owners as well as the railways, while saving precious diesel for the country. It saves wear and tear of tyres, reduces maintenance cost of trucks, enables faster delivery of goods and gives higher profits. The service has also helped decongest the national highway and gives a hassle-free ride to truck drivers.

There are two Ro-Ro services-one between Kolad (145 km from Mumbai) and Verna (a distance of 417 km), and the other between Kolad and Surathkal (a distance of 721 km). The delivery is within 12 hours for Kolad-Verna, and within 22 hours for Kolad-Surathkal, which, by road, will take at least 24 hours and 40 hours, respectively.

!RPF rescued 54 minors last year !The Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Konkan Railway rescued as many as 54 children who had run away from their ho mes from January to December 2014. All the rescued children were below 15 years and were either found loitering in the statio ns on the Konkan Railway route or found travelling unaccompanied by elders in trains. Most of the rescued children were reunited with their parents and others were handed over to the child helpline. The children and their parents were also counselled by the RPF officials. During the year, RPF also seized more than 35,000 liquor bottles, valued at more than Rs 30.6 lakh, carried illegally in trains and at premises of different stations and handed these over to the State Excise department. RPF also registered 593 cases under the Railways Act against anti-social elements in the railway premises in 2014. A total fine amount of Rs 3.41 lakh was collected from the offenders. As many as 183 cigarette smoking cases were also detected and the offenders were charged a fine of Rs 36,600.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangaluru / TNN / January 25th, 2015