हमसे सीखे कोई जीने का सलीका। सफर कैसा भी हो, मौज़ उडाये जाते हैं।। - Amir

At Madgaon - the RO-RO service
courtesy cloudno9
It is a unique road-rail synergy. Truck operators, who normally compete with the railways for a share of the goods transport pie, are utilising the tracks in a big way in the Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC). Loaded trucks are thus transported daily on wagons from Kolad in Maharashtra to Verna in Goa. The trucks-on-train system, known as RO-RO (roll-on roll-off), was introduced in 1998 when the Corporation did not have enough freight traffic. The KRC authorities chose this particular stretch as the terrain is hilly...
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and trucks take more than 12 hours to cover it. Now the running time is about eight hours. The two points are close to the national highways. The trucks are "rolled on" to the wagons, known as flats, at Kolad and at Verna. The drivers travel in the train and take delivery of the trucks at the destinations.

Wiki tells us: ''Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels. This is in contrast to lo-lo (lift-on/lift-off) vessels which use a crane to load and unload cargo.
RORO vessels have built-in ramps which allow the cargo to be efficiently "rolled on" and "rolled off" the vessel when in port. While smaller ferries that operate across rivers and other short distances often have built-in ramps, the term RORO is generally reserved for larger ocean-going vessels. The ramps and doors may be stern-only, or bow and stern for quick loading.''
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you ask me the R0-Ro train is the most exciting and innovative part of Konkan Railways. Once or twice a week a rake of 24-30 trucks leave Roha near Mumbai for Surathkal near Mangalore and vice versa. Over 2 million litres of Diesel are saved every year. Last year another R0-Ro train has started from Verna in Goa to Surathkal