New Delhi, Aug 8 (KNN) Keeping in view the demand of full vehicle load perishable traffic and the challenges being faced in transporting perishable goods, Indian Railways has developed High Capacity Parcel Vans (VPs) with a capacity of 23 Tonnes.

These vans are attached to passenger carrying trains subject to availability of room in train and operational feasibility.

To facilitate transportation of milk through Rail, specially designed High Capacity Milk Tankers having capacity of 44.66 KL are run as Special trains. At present 3 Milk tanker trains are being run of which 2 trains are run by Gujarat Corporative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. (GCMMFL) from Palanpur to Bhim Sen and other by Mother Dairy from Daund to Baraut, Ministry of Railways said in a statement.

In addition to this, Indian Railways also run special parcel train consisting of High Capacity Parcel Vans for transportation of fruits in bulk like Mango, Banana, Orange etc. on demand, on a fixed path between specific origin-destination stations. Railways supply rakes for transportation of fruits on indent basis.

For transportation of horticulture produce in container, Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) has procured 98 Ventilated Isolated Containers specially designed for movement of fruits and vegetables.

Meanwhile, according to a report, a wastage of perishable commodities at the warehousing stage in the country is common due to inadequate infrastructure. Due to lack of adequate supply chain facility, 37 percent of Indian produce goes to waste annually. Perishable logistics involve the transportation of a large volume of temperature-sensitive cargo, thereby allowing cold stores to play an important role.