South Western Railways (SWR), a division of national transporter Indian Railways (IR), has inked a pact with JSW Mineral Rail Logistics Private Limited (JMRLPL), a subsidiary of JSW Steel, to operate five types of special type wagons ‘side charging’ arrangement for unloading of iron ore, a statement issued by IR said on Tuesday, December 26.
It will be put to use for transportation of iron ore from the mines at Mineral Enterprises Ltd Siding, Sasalu and Swamihalli to the steel plant of JSW at Tornagallu. This is in addition to seven rakes for which agreement was signed on October 17, the statement said.
“Total 12 BOBSNS (Bogie open hopper wagons with bottom discharge arrangement to carry ballast ores) rakes shall be procured by JSW Minerals Rail Logistics Private Limited. The rake is manufactured by Titagarh Rail System Limited and the first rake is expected to operate from April, 2024,” it said.
JSW Minerals Rail Logistics Private Limited is investing about $ 4 million per rake. A rebate of 10 percent is granted to the customer on base freight for every booking, it said.
“Introduction of BOBSNS wagon will ease out the unloading difficulty through wagon tippler or manually. The capacity of this rake is 3.5 percent more than the 59 BOXN rake and it will save about two hours unloading time per rake of goods compared to regular BOXN rakes,” the statement added.