Indian Railways' Trucks-on-Trains Service Gains Momentum, Cuts Costs & Emissions

"During FY 2025 (April-December), the Trucks-on-Trains service handled a total of 545 rakes, moving more than three lakh tonnes of freight and generating revenue of Rs 36.95 crore. This volume underscores ToT's emergence as a commercially viable and scalable logistics product which will cut emissions, reduce congestion on roads, and bring down logistics costs," according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Railways on Thursday.

ToT integrates the flexibility of road transport with the efficiency and environmental benefits of electrified rail infrastructure developed under Indian Railways' Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) programme.

The service allows loaded trucks to be carried on specially modified flat wagons along the dedicated freight corridor.

Trucks avoid long, congested highway journeys and travel by railways for the main haul. They then complete only short first- and last-mile road movements.

Since inception, the service has completed more than 1,955 trips, handled more than a million tonnes of freight, and generated cumulative revenue exceeding Rs 131 crore.

Strong uptake from sectors such as dairy, automobiles, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and food processing reflects growing industry confidence in the model.

Each freight train has the potential to replace dozens of long-haul trucks, resulting in smoother traffic flow, lower accident risks, reduced diesel consumption, and diminished wear and tear on road infrastructure.

"At present, the ToT service operates between New Rewari and New Palanpur on the fully electrified Western DFC network. It will be extended to additional sections as infrastructure development progresses. On the New Palanpur-New Rewari corridor, the service spans around 636 kilometres, cutting end-to-end transit time from nearly 30 hours by road to around 12 hours via the ToT service. This integrated road-rail solution enhances transit reliability, shortens turnaround times, and reduces overall logistics costs, while shielding long-haul freight movement from many of the uncertainties inherent in highway transport," the statement added.

"A key strength of the ToT lies in its simple and competitive pricing structure. Freight is charged on transparent weight slabs, Rs 25,543 per wagon for trucks up to 25 tonnes, Rs 29,191 for 25-45 tonnes, and Rs 32,000 for 45-58 tonnes, while empty trucks are carried at only Rs 21,894 per wagon. To further support the dairy sector, no GST is levied on milk tankers, making the service especially attractive for time-sensitive and perishable cargo. Enhancing operational flexibility, Open Indent booking has been available since January 2024, allowing customers to plan movements in line with their dynamic logistics requirements," the statement said.

"A closer look at origin-wise performance further highlights its strength. New Palanpur alone accounted for 273 rakes, handling about more than 2 lakh tonnes and generating revenue of Rs 20.18 crore, demonstrating strong adoption from western India's freight clusters, particularly in dairy and FMCG sectors. New Rewari contributed almost equally in operational terms, with 272 rakes, moving around 0.1004 million tonnes and generating Rs 16.76 crore in revenue. Together, these terminals illustrate how strategically located nodes on the DFC can anchor sustained multimodal freight flows and drive corridor-based logistics efficiency," the statement added.

The service has witnessed strong patronage from western India's freight clusters, particularly from major customers such as the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) for milk and dairy products, along with other logistics service providers.

The relaunch of the Trucks-on-Trains service through a Memorandum of Understanding with Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation in June 2023 significantly reinforced industry confidence and helped anchor regular volumes from the dairy sector.

An important economic advantage for transporters is the avoidance of highway toll costs.

Long-distance trucking on national highways involves significant expenditure on toll plazas, which escalates logistics costs and increases trip uncertainty.

By shifting the long-haul segment to railways, Trucks-on-Trains enables operators to bypass these recurring toll expenses entirely, improving cost predictability and margins, particularly for high-frequency and long-distance movements.

"The environmental gains are reinforced by the fact that the entire DFC network is fully electrified. Shifting trucks from road to rail significantly reduces emissions of carbon dioxide (COâ‚‚), nitrogen oxides (NOâ‚") and particulate matter. As India's power generation mix progressively incorporates higher shares of renewable energy, the carbon footprint of railway-based freight under the ToT model is expected to decline further," the statement added.

- IANS