Billed as the first-of-its-kind in the Indian sub-continent, Railways today launched its first Double Stack Container Train from Kanakpura in Rajasthan. Flagged off by Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, the train would run on the Jaipur-Pipavav route and connect Inland Container Depot (ICD) Kanakpura with Pipavav port in Gujarat.

The Ministry of Railways says that the train would not only facilitate the carrying of 180 TEU (Twenty-ft Equivalent Unit) container against the 90 TEU containers of single-stack trains but also allow the Railways to carry a payload of 2,500 tonnes against 1,500 tonnes normally carried by single-stack trains. This, officials say, would ensure full utilisation of the carrying capacity of the locomotives.

Besides a cut in fuel consumption and reduction in infrastructural needs at railways stations, the Railways expects the train to eventually ensure faster evacuation of containers from ports and Inland Container Depots thereby attracting bigger ships to run direct services to Indian ports.