Residents of Thane in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region were recently in for a surprise when they heard the news of a ro-ro service coming up, connecting the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Vasai Road on the outskirts of Mumbai.

What is a ro-ro service, and why is it talked about so much?

Ro-ro stands for roll-on/roll-off. It is a rolling highway system, also called piggyback transportation. A basic rolling highway network is nothing but a railway track between two points. A train with flat-bed cars runs on the track. Vehicles can then “roll on” to the train at the start, and “roll off” at the destination.

The ro-ro system has been in operation in India and around the world. In India, it was pioneered by the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) from Kolad in Maharashtra to Surathkal in Karnataka, mainly to serve the industrial region of Verna in Goa.

Why is the ro-ro significant?

India’s west coast has several major ports, including the Hazira Port in Surat, Mumbai and Jawaharlal Nehru Ports in Mumbai, the Mormugao Port in Goa, New Mangalore Port and Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka and the Ernakulam Port in Kerala. Due to the presence of these ports, there are large cities along the way. Due to the difficult terrain, sandwiched between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, connectivity is also hindered.

There are two main trunk routes for connectivity along this route: road and rail.

By road, National Highway 66 connects Mumbai to Kanyakumari. Barring a few stretches near Mumbai, Goa and Mangalore, the bulk of this road is still a narrow, single-carriageway road that winds its way around the ghats. The terrain, the road width and the fact that the region receives a high amount of rainfall make driving on this stretch a herculean task for truck drivers.

By rail, the Konkan Railway line connects Roha, south of Mumbai in Maharashtra, and Thokur, north of Mangalore in Karnataka via Ratnagiri, Madgaon and Karwar. The 741km track consists of 2,000 bridges and 91 tunnels, thus eliminating a bulk of the problems drivers face on the road. It is a non-electrified, single-track line, although in 2016, railway minister Suresh Prabhu announced doubling and electrification of the network.