Stone India through its wholly-owned subsidiary company — Stone Intermodal Private Limited — executed an exclusive collaboration agreement on September 30, 2009 with Railrunner NA Inc, USA to manufacture, operate and sell new generation freight cars for seamless door-to-door transportation service on rail and road. The collaboration provides exclusivity in marketing, manufacturing and operating rights in India for an initial period of ten years.
For the first time India freight movement will have an air cushioned ride and articulated bogies, thereby enabling freight trains to run at mail/express train speeds and permit sophisticated and fragile products to be transported through rail. The system will also enable movement of automobiles, automobile components, refrigerated products seamlessly through rail as well as road.
The gross weight to tare weight ratio of the system will be as high as 4.5 against 2.5 to 3. Against a standard train of 45 flat freight cars, this system will permit 50 flat cars train due to reduced inter car gaps. This dead weight reduction of approximately 400MT and higher number of car/train will reduce the rail transportation cost significantly and also result in significant fuel saving due to reduced drag and lower tare weight of train.
This project will entail an investment of Rs 150 crore in two phases. The phase 1 investment will be through internal accruals and the facilities for manufacturing are being set up in its existing location with a capacity to build 25 Railrunner Freight cars per month. In phase II of the project the company will set up a greenfield manufacturing plant with a capacity to build 500 Railrunner freight cars per month. All the major components and systems of these freight cars will be made in house by Stone India.
Due to significantly lower engine fuel consumption or lower electric tractive power requirements the products will qualify for carbon credit.
The company has already received commercial and operating clearance from Indian Railways and the design validation is in progress, which would be completed soon. On completion of technical clearance from India Railways, the company will enter into an agreement with Indian Railways for train operations with Railrunner freight cars.