Railway Logistics
ECORADIX
Cold Chain Railway Parcel Logistics Solutions
Our Specialty Is In Providing Hybrid Transport Supply Chain Services With First & Last Mile Road Pick Up And Long-haul Transport By Railways Which Utilizes Faster And Safe Transport Platforms.
STEPS
How It Works
​1
Book Your Consignment
-
Choose Temperature
-
We schedule the booking An itinerary shared
3
Nearest Railwaystation
-
Cargo Loading and Preparing for the journey through Railways
-
Check and set the parameters
5
Destination Station
-
The Precious Medical shipment reaches destination Station​
-
Unloading the Cargo & moving onto Last mile Cold storage Vehicle
-
​Shipment Delivery
2
Cargo Pickup
-
Cold storage vehicle picks up the Cargo
​4
Cargo in Transit
-
Through Rail-Road
-
Track & Monitor Temperature
ECORADIX
Why Railway Logistics?
The Problem
India is a vast country with diverse geographical landscapes, which result in an unequal distribution of resources across different regions. Hence, agricultural crops are usually grown in clusters scattered across the nation, with different states producing different crops based on the soil, climate, and resources of the region.
In most cases, the local agri-produce is unable to even enter the supply chain due to the non-availability of logistics connectivity. Hence, surplus crops produced by a particular cluster often get wasted as there are no means to transport them from the local farms to markets across the country. This lack of connectivity leads to distress sales, financial losses for farmers, and a significant wastage of food that could otherwise fulfil another market’s needs.
A Potential Solution – Railway Transport
The Indian Railways is a reliable mode of transport that connects even the most far-flung corners of the country. Hence, railways can be a key player in bridging the demand and supply for agri-produce and potentially doubling our farmers’ incomes.
A scheduled, fixed route train service along identified freight lanes can enable the transport of large volumes of agri-produce to various markets across the country.
The LVPH rail transport container is the latest goods carrying Storage Container Vehicle introduced by the Indian Railways. This container can be a potential solution for the transport of surplus agri-produce from local farms to national markets. However, at present, the container does not support the transport of perishables over long distances during high-temperature seasons. Furthermore, it is also unsuitable for the transport of other precious temperature-sensitive cargo that requires sub-zero to 18°C temperature.
What We Have In Hand
The LVPH is a bare shell container which has a dimension of 23x3x3 (LxWxH) in meters. This vehicle is meant for transporting dry bulk parcels containing items without any temperature requirements. Hence, it is currently unsuitable for the transport of temperature-sensitive perishables like food and pharmaceuticals
The Challenge
Given that the existing design of the LVPH does not support temperature-controlled transport of perishables, we either need to set up an air conditioning system inside the container or insert cold storage units in the vehicle. However, the LVPH vehicle does not provide the provisions to build any permanent air conditioning setup. It does not have the required ducts, vents, power sockets, or drainage systems. Thus, we cannot build any permanent structure to support an air conditioning system inside or outside the LVPH.
One of the main challenges with the LVPH is that it has 4 access doors that have limited width and height, thereby restricting the size of the desired cold storage unit. Another challenge is that inside the parcel van are 4 collapsible doors, again with limiting dimensions that restrict the entry of any large cold storage structures. Therefore, we need a compact, modular, and easy-to-set-up cold storage unit, so that it can be easily loaded into the LVPH for the transport of perishable goods by rail.
The Solution
​After carefully studying and evaluating the various design challenges and restrictions posed by the LVPH, our team at Ecoradix has developed Cold Storage Units that are mobile, modular, and easy to set up, thereby enabling the logistics of temperature-sensitive goods via railway.
Our modular and portable cold storage units tackle the size restrictions of the LVPH and are easy to load and unload. They offer a safe and temperature-controlled environment for the long-distance transport of temperature-sensitive goods. Moreover, they come with a remote monitoring system to track and trace the status of your railway cargo in real-time. These reusable remote monitoring systems are connected to a cloud-based monitoring software and a mobile application. They provide the real-time location of your precious cargo and also contain sensors to trigger alerts when someone tries to open or break into the container. Backed with GPS and geo-fencing technologies and a long battery life, the remote monitoring module ensures that your temperature-sensitive cargo remains safe and secure throughout its railway journey.
With their innovative and ergonomic design, our railway logistics solutions offer efficient, user-friendly, modular, and reliable cold storage units for the transport of temperature-sensitive goods like agri-produce over long distances. They can help address the market need for a reliable cold chain shipping solution for surplus agricultural produce, and can also be used for shipping other temperature-sensitive products like pharmaceuticals.