Rail-cum-road vehicle from Phooltas Tamper

M. Somasekhar

HYDERABAD, Dec. 21

PHOOLTAS Tamper, a Patna-based Indo-US joint venture company, has come up with an innovative rail-cum-road vehicle for multiple uses in the railway network.

The Rs 50-crore sales turnover company, specialising in fabricating a range of products for the Railways, bagged an order worth about Rs 4.8 crore for the supply of 30 vehicles to the Railways recently.

The company got the order after the Railways put on trial four vehicles it supplied during the year 2000 and used them in different zones, according to Mr V.N. Singh, a company executive.

The rail-cum-road vehicle, claimed to be the first to be introduced in the country, can be deployed to reach men and material to difficult work sites in a very short time.

It also helps in reducing the occupancy of tracks by men repairing them or trains stuck due to some problems, thereby, improving traffic flows, he told Business Line.

The vehicle, costing about Rs 15 lakh, is a modified version of the Tata's models — Sumo and a truck version. It has both pneumatic tyres and specialised wheels that can ply on railway tracks.

Phooltas Tamper has sourced the design from the US partner — Harsco Track Technologies — which offers technology and products under the brand names of Fairmant, Tamper & Jackson.

"Our contribution is the integration of all rail attachments, including the turntable device," said Mr Singh.

Phooltas Tamper has also supplied a modified version to the Defence Research and Development Engineers, a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) centre in Pune, which in turn used it in the launch of one of the country's missiles, Mr Singh said.

The Patna-based company, incorporated as an Indo-US joint venture in 1999, is participating in the two-day exhibition organised as part of the national seminar on track standards, formation, ballast and elastic fastenings organised by the Institution of Permanent Way Engineers (India) and hosted by the South-Central Railway (SCR) here on Friday.