The government has approved the railways’ proposal to increase the train speed on Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah routes to 160 kmph. The two routes together account for 20 per cent of freight traffic and 29 per cent of passenger traffic. This could reduce the travel time by 3.5 hours and five hours respectively, making them overnight journeys. The decisions were taken during this Cabinet meeting that the decisions on Kashmir were discussed with Union ministers. Increasing the speed of the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah sections to 160 kmph will ensure up to 60 per cent increase in average speed of passenger trains and doubling of average speed of freight traffic. As a part of the Ministry’s 100-day agenda, the Delhi-Mumbai project will cost INR 6,806 crore while the Delhi-Howrah project will cost INR 6,685 crores. The project is set to be completed by 2022-23. Apart from this, the ministry also plans on constructing a new line between Vaibhavwadi and Kolhapur (now Shri Chhatrapati Shahumaharaj Terminus) with an estimated cost of INR 3,439 crore. The project will be executed by Construction Organization of Central Railway and is expected to be completed by 2023-24.

SpiceXpress has commenced its narrow body domestic freighter service connecting Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. With this, Hyderabad International Airport now has six scheduled freighters operating. SpiceJet’s 737-700F freighter aircraft will operate 6 days every week, arriving from Chennai at 9:45 pm and departing for Delhi at 10:45 pm. This service will connect Chennai – Hyderabad – Delhi – Mumbai – Bangalore sectors and has a capacity to carry approximately 20 MT of cargo. Manjiv Singh, Chief Project Officer, SpiceJet, added “Today’s consumers demand for the quickest deliveries possible. This has been shaping the e-commerce and logistics processes, and in turn the express logistics sector.” SGK Kishore, CEO, GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL) said, “We have been working with our partners including SpiceJet to bring in more choices and offer enhanced services in the Hyderabad air cargo market. With the addition of this new freighter, customers will have more options to ship their goods within the country and beyond. The availability of high-quality, daily cargo services is essential for the development of trade especially in high-value and time-sensitive products. This will also give a boost to the cargo and logistics sector in the region.”

Delhi International Airport (DIAL) has announced the construction of a dedicated elevated corridor to keep away vehicles carrying airport cargo from regular traffic, thus reducing congestion. Delhi airport will be the first airport to have a dedicated road for trucks carrying cargo into the cargo complex via the NH8. This dedicated road will also provide vehicles direct access to the cargo terminals and air cargo logistics centre (ACLC), including the upcoming cargo city. According to a statement issued by DIAL, “This 3km long four-lane dedicated elevated road will provide hassle-free, safe and seamless movement of trucks carrying cargo to the airport and will not disrupt regular traffic. It will also ease the traffic movement on the airport’s main approach road — the Central Spine Road, which is currently being used by both passengers as well as cargo vehicles.”

Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of State for Shipping, Government of India laid the foundation stone for development of an additional Liquid Cargo Jetty at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) in Mumbai. Built at a cost of over Rs 300 crore, the project will cater to the increased demand for handling liquid cargo like edible oil, LPG, molasses and other chemicals. Mandaviya said, “The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid focus on port-led development. Keeping this in view, India’s ports are being developed and modernized in line with global best practices. The new terminal will increase JNPT’s present capacity of 6.5 Million Tonnes Per Annum to an additional 4.5 million tonnes per annum.”

S Ramakrishna, Chairman, Federation of Freight Forwarders’ Associations in India (FFFAI) urged for greater collaboration between FFFAI and Nepal Freight Forwarders Association (NEFFA) for mutual benefits and enhancement of bilateral trade, at the Silver Jubilee Celebration function of NEFFA. Currently, freight forwarders in Nepal are showing concerns over irrational charges levied by shipping lines operating container services between India-Nepal route including labour charges, additional surcharges and demurrage charges resulting in increase in logistics cost. In addition, congestion at dry ports and exorbitant registration charges to use of government’s cargo tracking system remain other areas of concern.

The International Airport Transport Association (IATA) recently awarded the Mumbai and Hyderabad branches of Dachser India with the prestigious CEIV Pharma certification, recognizing the company for its excellence in transporting Life Science and Healthcare (LSH) products. The certification is a significant achievement for the logistics service provider given that only very few companies are currently accredited in India. In fact, the Dachser Hyderabad branch is only the second logistics firm in the area to receive the recognition; while its Mumbai branch is only among a few in the region. The Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics (CEIV Pharma) certification is a globally recognized certificate that acknowledges companies who excel in transporting Life Science and Healthcare (LSH) products. It is a quality mark and an industry standard that recognizes the logistics service provider as being able to safely, security and efficiently handle pharmaceutical shipments through the supply chain to assure product integrity and compliance with national and international guidelines. “Obtaining the CEIV Pharma certification is an important milestone for Dachser India. It emphasizes our continued focus for providing highly reliable logistic services to our valued customers in the LSH segment”, said Huned Gandhi, Managing Director, Air & Sea Logistics for the Indian Subcontinent. “Quality and efficiency have always been the cornerstones for our success and our teams are extremely proud to receive this accreditation from IATA”, Gandhi added.

DHL Express commenced the second leg of its ‘Yellow Yatra’ program in Delhi. The multi-city series is focused on equipping entrepreneurs from small and medium enterprises across India with the requisite knowledge to win in international e-commerce. The program aims to be a single platform that connects entrepreneurs to a wider e-commerce ecosystem comprising payment gateways, web development, SaaS, logistics and experts with a deep knowledge of online marketplaces, digital marketers and tax consultants. In Delhi, DHL Express is supporting entrepreneurs in leveraging this massive opportunity by enabling exports for sectors like apparels, handicrafts, home décor and books to markets such as USA, Europe, Australia, Japan and UAE. This also includes the Rs 100 crore investment made in expanding its Delhi Gateway at IGI airport that has doubled DHL Express’ export clearance capacity. RS Subramanian, Country Manager, DHL Express India, said, “SMEs are a crucial growth engine for the Indian economy, and a significant segment that constitutes more than 70 per cent of our business in India. With the growth of cross-border e-commerce, we have been deeply focused on empowering them with the right tools to prosper internationally through initiatives such as ‘Yellow Yatra’. Our extensive local, regional and global network is the key enabler for local entrepreneurs who wish to grow beyond borders.” Trivia According to DHL’s ‘21st Century Spice Trade report, the cross-border market is expected to grow by about 25 per cent annually, nearly twice the rate of domestic e-commerce and a growth rate that most traditional retail markets would dream of achieving. By 2020, people around the world will spend $1 trillion on cross-border e-commerce, and one out of five e-commerce dollars will be generated through …

Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) and Aerospace & Aviation Sector Skill Council (AASSC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote the skill development initiatives in the air cargo industry. AASSC & ACFI will work towards fulfilling the needs of air cargo logistics sector by involving the industry in developing and reviewing the occupational standards, build a credible and stringent quality assurance system for identification and accreditation of training partners, training of trainers, stringent assessments and a credible certification, and bring in international best practices.

To provide quick and efficient services to their customers, Transworld Group has launched WhatsApp service for their customers. The features include real-time push notifications of shipment journey and two-way communication—AI-enabled Chatbot—where the users can interact with bot and get real-time details on their mobile. Ritesh S. Ramakrishnan, Joint Managing Director, Transworld Group, highlights, “To serve our customers more efficiently, we have officially launched our WhatsApp for Business Services. We are focusing on a simple and reliable communication channel but at the same time quick, rich conversational customer experiences, which we are offering through WhatsApp and AI-based two-way communication—Chatbot. This will include an on-demand, real-time and personalised customer interaction for notifications related to booking, container release, shipment status right from pick-up to delivery, an end-to-end update on your shipment digitally and at any time.”

Nirbhik Narang has been appointed the cargo division head of Air India. Narang replaces Abhay Pathak, Executive Director (Commercial), Cargo Division, Air India. Prior to this position, he worked as General Manager – commercial at Air India Headquarters in Delhi. At Air India, he has worked as General Manager – Commercial for Southern Region (India); Station Manager Ahmedabad; Country Manager, Singapore & Nepal; head of sales & marketing for Eastern Region (India); and also, as station manager & airport manager at various domestic stations. He also had a short, but pivotal role in the airline’s revenue management.