In News: B S Yediyurappa, Chief Minister of Karnataka and Shri Suresh, Minister of State of Railways flagged off first ever RORO service of South Western Railway from Nelamangla (near Bengaluru) to Bale station at Solapur district in Maharashtra.

It will travel around 682 kms within 17 to 18 hours.

What is Roll On Roll Off (RORO)?

It is a concept of carrying road vehicles loaded with various commodities, on open flat railway wagons.

Roll On Roll Off services is a combination of best features of road and rail transports in the sense that they offer door to door service with minimal handling transported by fat and direct rail link. Road transport has advantage of door to door delivery of goods.

The RO-RO service is unique in that trucks with goods are driven on special ramps onto open wagons of the trains at the boarding station and driven off them at the destination. Sturdy ramps have been built near railway lines at both ends.