Watching a freight train of average length rumble past is often an unending experience (especially if you are waiting at a level-crossing). So imagine watching a train almost three times as long.
Two kilometres. That is the length of a new train which went on its first trial run in Odisha. With the aim of minimising man power and making path utilisation more economic, the East Coast Railway combined three rakes (a group of freight wagons or passenger coaches coupled together) into a single train, running it between Godbhaga and Balangir Stations in Sambalpur Railway Division.
According to Kalinga TV, the train, called Python Rake, comprised 147 wagons, three guard vans and four engines. The first rake of 45 flat wagons, and the second and the third rakes of 51 wagons each, were loaded with containers bound for Visakhapatnam port.
A video (above) of the experimental train was posted on the Twitter account of the Divisional Railway Manager of Sambalpur.
Corrections and clarifications: A previous version of this article mentioned Saharanpur instead of Sambalpur. This has been rectified.
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