Category Archives: Rail/Road

With the focus to improve multimodal infrastructure in India, the Ministry of Railways will soon build 100 cargo terminals with easy connectivity with roads and ports, said an official release. A senior official from the Rail Ministry said details related to identification, timelines, and mapping for the plan are already underway. At the Network Planning Group’s (NPG) 20th meeting, he also said that details will soon be shared across with all ministries and departments for in-depth coordination. The NPG meeting held recently was chaired by Amrit Lal Meena, special secretary in DPIIT’s logistics division, and saw participation from member ministries and departments including the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, amongst others.

As a part of PM Narendra Modi’s special package for Bihar, Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for road transport and highways will lay foundation stone and inaugurate projects worth Rs 13,000 crore to revamp eastern flank of Mahatma Gandhi Setu bridge in Bihar on June 7. Road construction minister Nitin Nabin along with additional chief secretary (road) Pratyaya Amrit also inspected the restructured eastern flank of Mahatma Gandhi Setu ahead of its inauguration, says reports. “Gadkari ji will launch eight projects from Patna, and he is proposed to launch two more projects at Bhagalpur on the same day. The entire work of Gandhi Setu has been completed with an estimated outlay of Rs 1800 crores,” said Nabin in a media release. A four-lane bridge is also proposed to be constructed parallel to Gandhi Setu on its western side, added official release. The rehabilitation of 39-year-old bridge is being done by the ministry of road transport and highways by replacing its old superstructure with steel deck superstructure, except pillars.

India is likely to get its first semi-high speed freight train under Gati Shakti by December. The trains, with 16 coaches each, will be manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. These freight trains will run at a speed of 160 kmph akin to the Vande Bharat Trains, says reports. A K Agarwal, ICF GM said, “The design work of these trains has already started. Two of these trains will be manufactured by December. More number will be manufactured depending on the market’s response. We are planning to target e-commerce and courier parcel services by introducing these trains.” Every train will have refrigerated wagons in the rear and in the front to carry perishables products. Power connection for these trains will be provided by the coach. The rest of the coaches will have rollers for moving the container.

With an aim to connect 27 more ports to rail for faster cargo transportation, Indian Railways is planning to add approximately 3,000 km of train lines. The project is likely to cost around US$13 billion. At present, 29 ports, including 12 major ones, are connected to a rail network for facilitating smoother and cost-effective cargo transportation. All the 12 major ports that have rail links are Chidambaram, Chennai, Kolkata/Haldia, Cochin, Paradip, Kamrajar, Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Mumbai, New Mangalore, JNPT and Deen Dayal Port Kandla. “The central government has been putting ample importance on the expansion of rail coverage across the country and covering all ports and terminals. Indian Railway carried 1.418 billion tonnes of cargo in 2020-21, reflecting a growth of 15 per cent,” read a media release.

Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways has set an ambitious target to construct a record 18,000-km of highways in 2022-2023 at a pace of 50 km per day. The FY2023 target is said to be 33 per cent higher than last fiscal. “I am not giving a guarantee that we will achieve this ambitious target, but we will try hard to achieve it” Gadkari said, in the event recently. The minister also added that the government is planning to award construction contracts of 18, 000 km in FY2023. In 2021-2022, the government reportedly constructed 10,457 km of national highways, a 24 per cent decrease from the previous fiscal year.

Ford Fleet Management (FFM) has signed a multi-year contract with DHL Inside Track to manage the preparation and transport of leased vehicles in the United Kingdom. DHL Inside Track, representing DHL’s automotive sales business arm, will be responsible for bookings and delivery of Ford vehicles to customers, as well as collection and “in-life” refurbishment. The FFM, a joint venture between Ford and ALD Automotive, provides short and long-term flexible leasing for light commercial vehicles (LCVs) and passenger cars. The logistics process will be established online as a part of Ford’s strategy to increase efficiency. The fleet management facility in Cambridgeshire will run the operation which has the required infra to offer Ford a tailored solution. Ford says partnering with DHL Inside Track is the right decision to meet the growth plans with Inside Track’s experience in the finished vehicle, fleet automotive and direct-to-customer.

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will construct a transport corridor of the northern Ring Road project. It will be jointly constructed with the state government. As per the deliberations, out of 360-metre-wide Ring Road, NHAI will construct 70-metre corridor, while Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) will construct 135-metre development corridor on either side of the Ring Road. A senior JDA official said, “The NHAI will bear the acquisition and construction cost of the land for building transport corridor. The chief secretary has also mentioned the same in the recent letter.” The cost of 45-km (Bagrana to Achrol) project is pegged at Rs 2,887 crore. The Ring Road project will comprise a six-lane access-controlled expressway and a three-lane service road on both sides. The northern corridor will also be developed on the lines of the 47km southern corridor (Agra Road to Ajmer Road) and the agencies will acquire 360-metre wide strip of land.

Vahak has launched an in-app payment feature, ‘Vahak Payments,’ to secure and simplify payments made by shippers to lorry drivers/owners. Karan Shaha, Co-Founder and CEO, Vahak, said, “Vahak is constantly addressing the challenges faced by transporters caused due to the lack of standardization in the transport sector. The truckers and shippers operating on our platform have been wary of the risks associated with their day-to-day financial transactions. Vahak Payments aims to simplify the ecosystem with its transparency and accuracy. Users can easily bid on loads and lorries of their choice and pay right away on the app. This saves them the hassle of making or requesting payments through cash or other means and ensures that the entire transaction is safe.”

Shreeji Translogistics Limited received ‘Premier Bonded Trucking Operator Award’ at the recently held India Cargo Awards 2022. India’s topmost supply chain awards which helps create a platform to recognise those behind the success of the cargo and logistics industry. Dileepa B M, CEO – Bonded Trucking said, “In these challenging times, Shreeji has grown its Bonded Trucking Division to another level. Shreeji has been providing Custom Bonded Trucking services for almost two decades and its services have been greatly appreciated by the Airline Industry. India Cargo Awards is an all-India platform with a vision to recognize those behind the success of the Cargo & Logistics Industry. I would say, the reward for work well done, is an opportunity to do more better.”

The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved the highest-ever outlay of Rs 12,123 crore to Andhra Pradesh for improvement of national highways, M T Krishna Babu, Principal Secretary, State Roads and Buildings Department informed. This allocation is a jump of Rs 4,258 crore over last year’s sanction of Rs 7,865 crore. In Andhra Pradesh, the national highways are spread over a length of 7,303.34 km of which 4,007.95 km are maintained by the state Roads and Buildings Department. “We will take up improvement of the NHs with the funds allotted this year. These projects will improve road connectivity from industrial nodes, economic zones and tourist spots. This will also improve logistic efficiency and create job opportunities, besides generating more tax revenue to the state government,” added Krishna.