India’s longest freight train ‘Rudrastra’ operated successfully by Indian railways

In a historic achievement, the Indian Railways operated its longest freight train named ‘Rudrastra’ on August 7. The train was managed by the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Division of the East Central Railway (ECR).

Rudrastra traveled from Ganjkhwaja station to Garhwa Road station covering 200 kilometers in 5 hours at an average speed of 40 km/h. The train is stretched for about 4.5 kilometers in length. It was formed by joining six empty BOXN rakes with a total of 354 wagons. To pull this huge load, seven engines were attached.

The journey began at 2:20 pm from Ganjkhwaja to Sonnagar on the Dedicated Freight Corridor. It then continued on the regular railway tracks to Garhwa Road.

The Indian Railways saves significant time and resources by combining six separate rakes into one long train. This improves the speed and capacity of freight movement while freeing up rail lines to accommodate more trains, making the entire freight system more efficient.