Mumbai, 21 December 2011

The Horticulture Train, a joint project by Pune-based National Horticulture Board, (NHB), Container Corporation Of India and Railways will be running in about a month and will connect Gujarat’s Surat on its route. A 1,000 tonnes capacity train will operate from Delhi to Mumbai via Agra and Surat and will return to Delhi via Jalgaon twice a week. It will have about 90-100 containers with a capacity of 15-17 tonnes each.

-It will make transport of perishable commodities over long durations much faster, easier and economic.
-It will have state-of-the-art facilities to control temperature, humidity and ventilation to keep vegetables and fruits inside the containers fresh and healthy.
-It will increase growers’ dividends by reducing the transportation cost and would help them get better price.
-The quality of perishable commodities will not deteriorate during transportation.
-The train will have GPS system. Information about the whereabouts of the train will be updated on the website of NHB and CCI.
-Experts sitting in Delhi will continuously monitor the temperature and ventilation facilities online
-The containers would be built at a cost of about Rs 16 crore while the engines will be provided by the Indian Railways.
-Anybody having more than 12 tonnes of commodity will be able to book a container.