The Indian Railways has augmented freight railroad transportation with improved rail car designs and special rail cars
Automakers in India could reduce logistic costs by 15-40 percent while transporting vehicles by using railways. The recent lockdown in view of the COVID-19 pandemic saw trucks and lorries off the road and it was at this time that special trains came to the rescue of automakers in the country.
Noting the reduced costs during that period has now caused auto companies to pay more attention to transporting vehicles via the Indian Railway. More recently, companies such as Kia, Tata, Maruti and Hyundai are all showing preference to the Indian Railways for transportation needs.
On 13th October, Kia Motors transported 5,000 SUVs on the 50th railway rake that left Penukonda junction in Andhra Pradesh. Not only India, Indian Railways is also helping with transporting to other countries.
Mahindra Bolero Pickups Transported via Train
Mahindra has loaded 87 Bolero Pick up vans which are being transported from Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra; to Benapole in Bangladesh. This process of transportation is not only more sustainable but also faster and more efficient when compared to that of road transport.
Boosting Automobile Exports: Railways loaded 87 pick-up vans ? from Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra to Benapole in Bangladesh ??
Offering safe, swift & economical logistic solutions, Railways has emerged as a preferred mode for automobile transportation.#MoveItLikeRailways pic.twitter.com/90QP9qZytG
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) October 25, 2020
This is the first time that such a process is being conducted. These Mahindra Boleros will make this 2,100 km journey from Navi Mumbai to Bangladesh in a safe, quick and economical way via the Indian Railways.
Indian Railways to boost facilities
To further this mode of transportation, the Union Minister for Railways, Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, has met with representatives from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) along with heads from leading automakers such as Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors, Mahindra, Honda Cars India and Ford India.
There were several measures discussed and announced that would augment transportation by railroad while demand from auto majors were also taken into account. The Union Minister confirmed the opening of two loading terminals across the country along with efforts to ensure smooth transportation to countries of Bangladesh and Nepal, two major markets for vehicle manufacturers in India. With these efforts, the Indian Railways is targeting 20 percent share of automotive logistics by FY2021-22 which will be increased to 30 percent in the FY2023-24 period.
Mahindra Bolero
Mahindra has noticed a rising demand for the Bolero Pickup. It is a leader in the pickup segment in India with a market share of nearly 58 percent. The Bolero is the company’s flagship model and has proved its worth for nearly 20 years catering to agriculture transport, dairy products, consumer goods and is even used for garbage pickup under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan scheme. It is the Bolero that is high in demand for transport of construction equipment, logistics, fisheries and as cash vans.
The Bolero Pickup is customizable with various flatbed options and is a four wheel drive vehicle with CNG option. It comes in four variants with a single 1.5 liter BS6 mHawk, 3 cylinder diesel engine that makes 75 hp power and mated to a 5 speed manual gearbox as standard. It is priced between Rs.7.73-9.13 lakhs.