Boost to rail milk network: Centre plans to enhance market access

The Modi government is considering to boost the rail milk network to ensure supply of milk to regions facing shortage, thus enhancing market access to milk producers.

The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and Amul have placed orders for procurement of 30 new rail milk tankers, which would be made available by the ministry of railways, Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh said here.

Each new rail milk tanker (RMT) will have the capacity of transporting 44,600 litres of milk. The RMTs can be attached to express or mail trains for speedy transportation of milk.

At present, dairy cooperative federations have 96 RMTs which are plying along the national milk grid, taking milk to areas of demand.

“The procurement of 30 new tankers by Amul and NDDB will enhance movement of milk from milk surplus areas to areas of demand, thus benefiting the consumer and enhancing famers’ market access,” Singh said.

Amul is the biggest user of the national milk grid, transporting five lakh litres of milk per day through the rail route. This is only a fraction as huge quantity of milk is still transported using the network of roads across the country.

The RMT is designed in such a manner so as to prevent milk from churning while in motion and the temperature is maintained.

An RMT is usually loaded with pasteurised milk cooled at two degrees Celsius and the specially designed tanker ensures that the temperature of milk does not rise beyond two degrees even after a 40-hour journey.

In the Railway Budget this year, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda had announced running of full-fledged trains, in collaboration with Amul and NDDB, to carry milk and milk products.

North Gujarat-based Banas Dairy, Asia’s largest dairy union, transports milk from Banaskantha to Delhi and Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh. Amul Dairy uses the rail route to transport milk to Kolkata.