A DG powered transfer trolley carries its own diesel generator set, so it can run a stockyard or an inter-shed route with no trailing cable, no busbar and no charging window, on routes where electrifying the track is the problem rather than the solution.
Where electrification fails
Cable reels and busbars work well inside a bay. They stop working at the bay door. A stockyard route of several hundred metres across open ground would need a busbar exposed to weather and vehicle traffic or a cable trench the length of the route, and neither survives long. A battery trolley solves the cable problem but runs into two limits of its own: a power draw too high for a pack of sensible size and weight on the heaviest loads, and a duty cycle with no gap long enough to recharge. A DG powered transfer trolley answers both. The generator supplies whatever the drives need, for as long as there is fuel.
How it is built
The generator set sits in an acoustic canopy at one end of the deck, feeding the travel motors and, where fitted, the deck hydraulics through a conventional VFD panel. The rest of the machine is the same rail car as our motorised transfer trolley: a welded box-section frame, forged double-flanged wheels cut to the plant's rail gauge, and a V-frame, U-frame or flat deck. Capacities run from 1 to 150 ton, with the heaviest builds geared to a slower travel speed so the generator can be kept to a sensible rating.
Endurance is set by the tank
Unlike a battery, the generator's endurance is a fuel-tank size decision. A tank sized for a twelve-hour shift plus margin is typical, and refuelling takes minutes. This is the practical reason DG trolleys appear in plants with round-the-clock stockyard movements, where a battery machine would need a spare pack or a charging break the schedule does not allow.
When to choose DG, battery or cable
Cable reel or busbar for a fixed indoor route within a bay; battery for indoor routes that cross gangways or serve several stations, with gaps to charge; DG for outdoor routes, very long runs, the highest continuous power draws, and sites with unreliable grid supply. The layout side of the decision is covered in fixed-rail vs mobile coil transfer systems; for a specific route, send us a sketch and we will recommend one of the three.
Frequently asked questions
Can a DG trolley run indoors?
It can, with the exhaust routed to the outside or the route short enough that the set runs only briefly indoors. For a fully indoor route, a battery or cable-fed trolley is the better choice.
What maintenance does the generator need?
The same as any diesel set of its rating: oil and filter changes on the hour meter, coolant checks and fuel filtration. The travel drives are standard geared motors with no special service.
Can the trolley be controlled remotely?
Yes. Pendant, wireless remote or a small cabin are all offered, and the generator start and stop can be brought onto the remote so the operator never has to climb onto the deck.
Export Availability
For export, the generator set is selected for the fuel grade and ambient temperature at the destination, and the unit is shipped with the tank drained and the set preserved for the sea voyage. DG trolleys are a frequent choice for port-side stockyards and mills in regions where grid power is unreliable, since the machine keeps running through an outage that would stop a busbar-fed car.
Manufactured at Pragya's Pithampur (Indore) works and exported to steel mills worldwide — 22+ countries across 5 continents to date. Every export order ships with mill test certificates, ocean-freight packing, and full customs documentation, quoted FOB or CIF.
Interested in our industrial equipment?
Our export team, based in Indore, India, will recommend the right solution and quote FOB or CIF pricing for your shipment.
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