Ministry of Road Transport publishes draft standard for Road-Train, reduces logistics cost

To revolutionise the transport of goods and reduce the overall logistic costs, the Ministry of Road Transport & Highway (MoRTH) has hosted the draft on the Automotive Industry Standards Committee and has amended AIS-113 Standard to include the safety requirements of Road-Trains. The standards have been prepared after examining European benchmarks, keeping in mind Indian operating conditions. “These standards shall pave the way for a breakthrough intervention for fast and efficient movement of goods along the long-distance freight corridors,” said the ministry.
For the unversed, Road-Train is a motor vehicle wherein the traction is provided by the puller, which is connected to a serial combination of trailers or semi- trailers. These shall ply on select stretches to reduce congestion, save fuel and reduce noise & air pollution.
The Automotive Industry Standards Committee has representatives from the relevant Ministries, Testing Agencies, Industry stakeholders, BIS etc.
The amended standard AIS-113 (Code of Practice for Type Approval of Trailers / Semi-trailers of categories T2, T3 and T4 being towed by Motor Vehicles of categories N2 and N3) has been published for invitation of public comments, after which it shall be notified in due course.