Silk cocoon bags being loaded onto a train at the Pandharpur Railway Station in Maharashtra on Thursday for transporting them to Ramanagara market in Karnataka.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
In a major boost to sericulture farmers of Maharashtra and Karnataka, the Solapur Division of Central Railway has commenced direct transportation of silk cocoons from Pandharpur and Kalaburagi to Ramanagara, Asia’s largest silk cocoon market.
The service, which began on November 27, marks a significant logistics breakthrough by providing farmers with a faster, cheaper and more reliable route to the country’s premier silk trading hub.
According to a press release issued by the Solapur Division on Friday, the initiative is the result of sustained efforts by the Division’s Business Development Unit, which has been working to connect farmers directly to distant markets.
Although Pandharpur and Solapur were already linked to Ramanagaram through the Pandharpur–Mysuru Gol Gumbaz Express (Train No. 16536) and the Bagalkot–Mysuru Basava Express (Train No. 17308), silk cocoons could not earlier be booked because these trains halted at Ramanagaram for less than five minutes. This made loading and unloading difficult.
To address the issue, Central Railway and South Western Railway undertook a joint effort. While Central Railway streamlined loading arrangements, South Western Railway reworked the unloading processes. As a result of this coordinated initiative, the direct booking of silk cocoons to Ramanagaram has been enabled for the first time.
Farmers immediately utilised the new facility. On the very first day, a group of sericulture farmers from Pandharpur booked 38 bags of silk cocoons weighing 1,500 kg. Rail transport costs them less than ₹5 per kg, making it more than 30% cheaper than road transport, besides offering faster delivery and direct market access. Officials noted that the service will now benefit farmers across Pandharpur, Solapur and Kalaburagi by reducing logistics costs and eliminating middlemen.
The press release emphasised that this achievement is a direct outcome of the Amrit Samvad stakeholder interaction programmes held recently in Pandharpur and Kalaburagi, where railway officials received inputs directly from users and addressed operational challenges quickly.
The Solapur Division, which caters to a major fruit-growing region and several sugar industries, reaffirmed its commitment to expanding agriculture-based freight services and contributing to regional economic growth through farmer-friendly railway initiatives.
Train No. 16536 Gol Gumbaz Express, a daily service, departs from Pandharpur at 1 p.m. and from Solapur at 3.30 p.m. towards Ramanagaram. Similarly, Train No. 17308 Basava Express operates daily, leaving Solapur at 7.30 p.m. and Kalaburagi at 9.15 p.m., providing consistent connectivity for silk cocoon transport.
The Solapur Division has appealed to silk-cocoon-producing farmers across the region to take advantage of the daily railway services to access the Ramanagaram market directly.
Published – November 29, 2025 05:24 pm IST
