As India’s economy expands and freight volumes rise sharply, Indian Railways’ Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) initiative is driving a strategic shift in logistics through its innovative Trucks-on-Trains (ToT) service. By combining the flexibility of road transport with the efficiency of electrified rail corridors, the service is reducing congestion, emissions and logistics costs while improving reliability in long-haul freight movement.
Introduced as part of Indian Railways’ long-term freight transformation strategy, Trucks-on-Trains allows fully loaded trucks to be carried on specially designed flat wagons along the Dedicated Freight Corridor. Under this multimodal model, trucks avoid long and congested highway journeys, travel by rail for the main haul, and operate on roads only for first- and last-mile connectivity.
At present, the service operates on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor between New Rewari and New Palanpur, covering a distance of about 636 km. This has reduced end-to-end transit time from nearly 30 hours by road to around 12 hours using the integrated road-rail model. The corridor is expected to expand further as additional DFC sections become operational.
Indian Railways has positioned ToT as an economically viable and reliable alternative to long-distance trucking. Freight charges follow a transparent slab-based structure, with competitive rates depending on truck weight, while empty trucks are carried at a lower tariff. To support the dairy sector, no GST is levied on milk tankers. Since January 2024, Open Indent booking has also been introduced, allowing customers greater flexibility in planning logistics operations.
Operational data indicates growing acceptance of the service. During FY 2025 (April–December), Trucks-on-Trains handled 545 rakes, transporting over 3 lakh tonnes of freight and generating revenue of ₹36.95 crore. New Palanpur accounted for 273 rakes and revenue of ₹20.18 crore, while New Rewari handled 272 rakes, generating ₹16.76 crore. Strong demand has come from western India’s freight clusters, particularly the dairy and FMCG sectors, with the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Amul) emerging as a major user following the relaunch of the service under an MoU in June 2023.
One of the most significant impacts of the ToT service is the modal shift of long-haul freight from road to rail. By transferring the most energy-intensive segment of truck journeys to an electrified freight corridor, the service helps decongest highways, reduce fuel consumption and lower accident risks. Transporters also benefit from avoiding highway toll costs, improving cost predictability and margins.
Environmental benefits form a key pillar of the initiative. The fully electrified DFC network significantly cuts emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter. On the Palanpur-Rewari stretch alone, the shift to rail removes nearly 48,875 trucks from highways for the core journey, resulting in estimated diesel savings of about 8.9 million litres and preventing over 230 million kilograms of CO2 emissions. Reduced truck movement also lowers road dust pollution, improving air quality along major transport corridors.
The service has also improved operational resilience. Rail movement on dedicated corridors is less vulnerable to fog, heavy rain and extreme weather, ensuring greater schedule reliability. By reducing continuous long-distance driving, ToT lowers driver fatigue, enhances road safety and reduces wear and tear on highways.
From a commercial standpoint, Trucks-on-Trains has emerged as a sustainable revenue stream for rail-based logistics. Since inception, the service has completed over 1,955 trips, carried more than one million tonnes of freight and generated cumulative revenue exceeding ₹131 crore. Sectors such as dairy, automobiles, FMCG and food processing have shown growing confidence in the model.
Looking ahead, scalability is being strengthened through the development of new Flat Multipurpose (FMP) wagons designed to carry trucks more efficiently and safely. Expansion of origin–destination points and terminals across the DFC network is also expected to reduce first- and last-mile costs and extend the service to new industrial clusters.
According to the Ministry of Railways, the initiative aligns with DFCCIL’s broader multimodal logistics vision, under which road and rail are designed to complement each other. By deploying each mode where it is most efficient and sustainable, Trucks-on-Trains represents a structural shift in India’s freight transport paradigm—offering a model that is efficient, reliable and environmentally responsible.
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