For the first time, a consignment of truck mixers, loaders and self-loading mixers were sent from the Rail Auto Hub at Walajabad, near Kancheepuram, by Schwing Stetter India, a concreting and construction equipment manufacturer.
According to details provided by the Southern Railway Chennai division, the first set of construction vehicles/equipment from Walajabad was sent to Palwal near Delhi and this transaction will generate ₹27.27 lakh revenue for the Railways.
“Around 64 truck mixers and others were loaded on 32 DBKM (defence, bogie military wagon) rake on April 9 and left the hub on Saturday (April 10),” railway officials said. The officials said that Schwing Stetter has assured them to take six such rakes every month to various destinations, including Howrah, Pune and Bhubaneswar.
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The company, a subsidiary of Schwing GmbH, a German concreting machinery manufacturer that is part of China’s XCMG group, feels that this would help consignments reach faster and help reduce carbon footprint. “Using trailers via roads is becoming a hassle. For instance, States like Maharashtra are not friendly with goods carriers and they have many regulations,” V.G. Sakthikumar, managing director of Schwing Stetter India, said. “They slap penalties and there are no fixed rules,” he said.
“We are expecting Railways to come out with a correct definition and classification of this machine so that we get the exact pricing benefits,” Mr. Sakthikumar said. At present, Schwing Stetter India is manufacturing excavators at Cheyyar Sipcot and the products will soon be rolled out from here. With Walajabad being the nearest, the company intends to use the rail facilities to transport the products.