Indian Railways begins trials of Vande Bharat freight rake in Kota
Indian Railways has started nearly month-long trials of its first Vande Bharat-based Freight EMU, designed to speed e-commerce parcels, cold-chain shipments and time-sensitive freight. The 16-coach rake includes two reefer vans, 12 parcel coaches and payload capacity of more than 397 tonnes.
Indian Railways began month-long trials of its first Vande Bharat-based Freight EMU in Kota, targeting faster e-commerce parcels, cold-chain logistics and time-bound freight. The 16-coach rake includes reefer vans and has payload capacity exceeding 397 tonnes.
Why this matters
The Kota trial extends Indian Railways' freight push after its direct Kolkata Port–Nepal container service. It also broadens the Vande Bharat platform alongside Sleeper service preparations, while addressing concerns that MSMEs miss rail's cost savings.
Omni-channel is steady, with 1,771 signals recorded in the past 90 days.