Plea in NGT seeks roll-on service for vehicles

New Delhi, May 5

With a view to curbing air pollution in Delhi-NCR, a plea was today moved in the National Green Tribunal seeking introduction of RORO service for commercial vehicles which are more than 10 years old.

RORO (roll-on roll-off) is a service that enables loaded trucks to be carried directly on railway wagons between two destinations.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar issued a notice to the Ministry of Railways and sought their reply by May 18.

"There are no trains for human beings, you want it for trucks. No train enters railway station in capital on its time," the bench said.

The plea filed by Kailash Mishra and Himani Jain, experts in field of road transport, has sought intervention in the Vardhaman Kaushik case (related to air pollution by vehicles) for providing a "feasible" solution to the air pollution menace in Delhi-NCR.

Advocate Sanjay Upadhyay, appearing for Mishra and Jain, said that if RORO service is introduced by railways, the trucks will cross Delhi without causing pollution.

"Keeping in mind the heavy inflow of diesel vehicles in NCR, the applicants propose to introduce RORO service for transporting all heavy, medium and light commercial vehicles irrespective of their age or fitness level transiting through Delhi and NCR region on roll-on-roll-off train service provided by the northern railways at a cost lower than road transport cost," the plea said.

The plea said that the Konkan Railway has been operating RORO service for fully loaded trucks for the last 16 years and have transported approximately 5 lakh trucks during this period.

"The technology and system of RORO, therefore, has been tried and tested successfully by the Indian Railways and may be replicated in NCR," it said.—PTI