Asia’s longest freight train ‘Rudrastra’: 4.5 km, 7 engines, 354 wagons

Srinagar, Aug 09: Indian Railways has achieved a major milestone by operating its longest-ever freight train, named Rudrastra. The 4.5-kilometre-long train was assembled by coupling six box rakes—each comprising two goods train racks—and powered by seven locomotives.

Operated by the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Division of the East Central Railway, Rudrastra ran from DDU to the Dhanbad Division to enable faster loading and transportation of goods.

“This new experiment will speed up freight movement, reduce resource use, and save time,” said Divisional Railway Manager Uday Singh Meena.

The trial run was conducted from the Ganjkhwaja railway station in Chandauli to Garhwa in Jharkhand on Thursday, covering a distance of 209 km in over 5 hours, at an average speed of 40.50 km per hour, according to the East Central Railways.

According to railway officials, with 354 wagons, Rudrastra is not only India’s longest freight train but also the largest in Asia. The train was prepared in a way that two engines were attached in front and one with each rack after every 59 bogeys. A total of seven engines were used to steer the 345 wagons.