Fact Check: Has an Indian Railways rake with 90 containers gone missing

In Indian Railways, a rake refers to a set of coaches that are coupled together to form a complete train

A news item claiming that a rake carrying 90 containers from Nagpur to Mumbai has gone missing is in circulation.

An online publication, published the said news with the headline, 'Rake carrying 90 containers from Nagpur to Mumbai goes missing.'

However this news that appeared on February 14 in the online edition of 'Hitavada' has been debunked by the Central Railways.

Putting out a detailed clarification, the Railways said, 'regarding the above matter, it is clarified that the said rake carrying 90 containers from Nagpur to Mumbai left MIHAN ICD on February 1, 2023 and reached Shegaon Station of Bhusaval division on February 5, 2023. The rake is not missing was mentioned in the news article and it is being physically moved to the destination ie JNPT Port. The wrong information which is provided to the reporter will be investigated.'

Container Corporation of India Ltd also clarified that the news is misleading. "It is clarified that the said news is factually incorrect. It is informed that the subject train is being moved from Shegaon to JNPT Port on priority. Accordingly, the usage of the word 'missing' is misleading and also not authorised person of CONCOR did give such a statement," Container Corporation of India Ltd said in its clarification.

Hence the said news is misleading and the same has been clarified by the Central Railways.

What is a rake:

In Indian Railways, a rake refers to a set of coaches that are coupled together to form a complete train. Rake is a term commonly used to describe passenger trains, which consist of a set of coaches which are interconnected by couplers and operated by a locomotive.

Each coach in a rake is identified by a unique number and is equipped with various facilities such as seating, toilets, racks and air conditioning.

The formation of a rake is done at the railway yards or stationed by marshalling the individual coaches and coupling them together in a specific order. The rake is hauled by a locomotive, once the rake is formed and operated by a team of railway staff, including the driver, guard and ticket collector.