Southern Railway has dispatched a Parcel Cargo Express Train (PCET) carrying Power Tillers and Power Reapers today early morning from Ernakulam Junction (ERS) to Changsari(CGS), Assam.
Manufactured by Kerala Agro Machinery Corporation (KAMCO), Angamali the farm equipment will reach its destination in less than five days. Transport by road can take up to 15 days said a statement from Southern Railway.
The timetabled PCET special with twenty four fully loaded High Capacity Parcel Van (VPH) is expected to reach Changsari on the fourth day. Southern Railway has transported KAMCO agro machines since 26th January 2017. Back then, the first consignment carrying 28 tillers was dispatched from Thiruvananthapuram Division to Dimapur, Nagaland.
Normally the machines are transported through parcel units of passenger trains to various locations in Orissa, West Bengal, Tripura and Assam. This is the first instance a full rake formation of KAMCO agro machinery is dispatched as a timetabled parcel special train.
Power Tillers (or Walking Tractors) are advanced machines used for cultivation, tillage, sowing etc. and Power Reapers are self-propelled machines used for harvesting and windrowing, both these machines are operated by farmers walking behind them. These farm machines are highly effective in the hilly terrains of East and North East parts of India.
Kerala Agro Machinery Corporation (KAMCO), Athani, Angamali, is a Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of Agriculture, Government of Kerala and the largest producer of Power Tillers in Kerala. There are six production units, 2 units at Athani and 1 each at Kalamassery, Mala, Kanjikode and Kannur).
80% of their products are transported to Eastern and North-Eastern parts of the country and 20% to southern states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. KAMCO found transportation through rail as economical since the cost of transport reduced by 44% and the transit time also came down to less than five days from eleven to fifteen days required by road. Moreover, the expense for repairing and repainting of damages to farm machines that occurred during transit by road has come down to zero, when transported through rail.
