Indian Railways announces new cargo GCT policy

The Indian Railways has decided to forgo close to Rs 700 crore a year that it collects from companies running freight businesses on its network. Under a new cargo policy, which came into effect on December 15, owners of private sidings, or short railway tracks, and private freight stations — about 1,200 in total— will no longer have to pay land licensing fees for using railway tracks that connect their private sites to the nearest rail line.
The cargo policy was rolled out after the railway board had approved a 76-page document titled Gati-Shakti Multimodal Cargo Terminal (GCT) policy on the premise that the national transporter will now focus more on leveraging its land resources rather than simply earning some money out of it, according to an officer close to the development. So, the decision to forgo a sizable fixed earning, that too at a time when the pandemic has eroded its revenue base, is based on a risky calculation that such a waiver will woo more private players into cargo terminal businesses, which in turn will augment the Railways’ freight movement and revenue. And that will not only offset the losses to be incurred due to the waiver, but will fetch more profit.