[airbus]

I am just curious if they have extensively explored the option to use ship instead. I guess, it would have been faster if sea route was used.

This 74-wheel Volvo truck took one year to travel 1,700 kms. Here is why

A huge Volvo truck with 74 wheels took one year to travel between Nashik and Thiruvananthapuram, a distance of about 1,700 kms. It was carrying a load of 70 tonnes of aerospace autoclave meant for Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

The Volvo FM12 truck are designed for carrying heavy cargo. But the machine was so heavy, that the truck could move only five kms every day. The truck started its journey in July 2019, travelled through four states to get the machine delivered to its destination.

.....

The truck's journey also got extended because of lockdowns imposed to tackle coronavirus outbreak since March this year.

Giant Machine For Space Project

[narayans80]

There was a discussion on similar lines a year back, here are couple of posts relevant to such a large cargo movement 1 (Road trains to be allowed in India on select routes) and 2 (Road trains to be allowed in India on select routes)
The quoted article mention everything:

Couple of bridges were strengthened for this cargo to pass.
Spent a month in AP without movement due to Covid-19.

[balenoed_]

But the machine was so heavy, that the truck could move only five kms every day. The truck started its journey in July 2019, travelled through four states to get the machine delivered to its destination.

I don't think the 5 Km per day fact is quite right, which sounds way low. Probably that number has been arrived just by calculating 1700 kms/365 days.

The truck must have been halted for quite long time (a month at least) during COVID lock downs and there would be definitely week off days and many other off-drive days. Never the less, the numbers and magnitude associated is humongous.

And would this truck go back empty?

[narayans80]

Another article in a different section in Hindustan Times quotes Sep 1st, 2019 start

[sunishsamuel]

Somewhere I read that the initial plan was to get the cargo to Trivandrum through sea but due to the road conditions and height limitations leading to Mumbai port they decided to use the road/highway path to Trivandrum. Trying to find that article. I guess it was in Malayala Manorama.

Quite interesting that Volvo got free publicity. May end up being synonymous with large cargo (like JCB to earth mover)

And how come Tata and Ashok Leyland trucks were not considered ? I think the Volvo FH series puller (I think truck in the article is FH520 - experts can clarify) equivalent variants are available in the Tata Prima range (or maybe not)

[Flyer]

From the news what I understand is that the delay was mostly due to bad road conditions. Many places they had to repair the roads and strengthen bridges etc for the cargo to pass smoothly. This would have caused days of delay at many places. They also had to be careful about electric lines and clear tree branches due to the height of the cargo.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by airbus

I am just curious if they have extensively explored the option to use ship instead. I guess, it would have been faster if sea route was used.

I have the same question as well.
It is strange that they could not manage to get the shipment to JNPT from Nashik by road, but decided to send it by road to Kerala.

Shipping it would have been an efficient excercise on cost and time basis as well. No?

[Radiator]

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel

I think the Volvo FH series puller (I think truck in the article is FH520 - experts can clarify) equivalent variants are available in the Tata Prima range (or maybe not)

It's the FM 460 puller.

Tata and AL don't make 'puller' versions as such. Tata had a 'Prima 5530' tractor with 300 horses and AL had 'Captain 5532' with 320 horses but they got discontinued soon after the BS6 Transition.

[itwasntme]

Reminds me of the turbine part stuck on the Kasara Ghat for 9 months!
https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/...w/15793852.cms

[anandhsub]

Originally Posted by vibbs

I have the same question as well.
It is strange that they could not manage to get the shipment to JNPT from Nashik by road, but decided to send it by road to Kerala.

Shipping it would have been an efficient excercise on cost and time basis as well. No?

Originally Posted by airbus

I am just curious if they have extensively explored the option to use ship instead. I guess, it would have been faster if sea route was used.

The video at the 2 min mark says it couldn't be transported by ship because of the height

[Flyer]

Originally Posted by vibbs

I have the same question as well.
It is strange that they could not manage to get the shipment to JNPT from Nashik by road, but decided to send it by road to Kerala.

Shipping it would have been an efficient excercise on cost and time basis as well. No?

They couldn't ship it because this exceeded the maximum height limit for Over Dimensional Cargo (ODC) at Mumbai port. Bringing it by road was the only available option.

[vivek95]

Wow. This is super awesome. I am interested to know what all it involves driving a truck like this ?? Could be so complicated while negotiating ghat curves in Maharashtra. Does this truck have cameras installed at specific locations on the trailer that assisted the driver while driving ? What did the cabin look like ? I think an engineer might have accompanied the driver ??

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Wow. This is super awesome. I am interested to know what all it involves driving a truck like this ?? Could be so complicated while negotiating ghat curves in Maharashtra. Does this truck have cameras installed at specific locations on the trailer that assisted the driver while driving ? What did the cabin look like ? I think an engineer might have accompanied the driver ??

These trucks for sure will be escorted by 2 vehicles, one ahead and one tailing it. The one in front is at least 500 meters ahead with flags and sirens clearing the path or even bringing traffic to halt in dense sectors, at times accompanied by local police escort vehicles. Without external support like this, for roads and highways of our country, driving such vehicles is an extremely risky task otherwise.

Also, depending on the width of the median, especially on a dual carriageway, these trucks stick to the median than the left lane to avoid any mishaps caused due to local traffic or population often found on the left lane while crossing major towns and cities.

They also mostly remain parked at nights and are driven only during the day.

[srini1785]

I know that sometimes rocket engines are transported between LPSC mahendragiri (TN) to SHAR Sriharikota ( AP) by road and takes around 3 weeks. The course is pre charted, local police stations are alerted and highways are blocked.

This incident seems to be a case of poor planning on part of logistics dept and the unexpected lockdown which resulted in probably a 3 month delay.

Was just wondering would a Antanov AN124 plane be of help?.

[Spinnerr]

Originally Posted by Flyer

They couldn't ship it because this exceeded the maximum height limit for Over Dimensional Cargo (ODC) at Mumbai port. Bringing it by road was the only available option.

Would that even rule out transport via plane? Would Antonov have accommodated the cargo along with a trailer?

Her maximum designed payload is 250,000 kg with a total volume capacity of 1,200 cubic meters. The Antonov An-225's cargo bay has a total length of 43.32 meters, a width of 6.4 meters and a height of 4.4 meters and includes an on-board crane that can lift 30,000 kg at any one time.

Source

Antonov Airlines brochure