Category Archives: Rail/Road

An MoU has been signed between National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) for the development of multimodal logistics parks in the presence of Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways and Cabinet Minister of AYUSH and General VK Singh, Union MoS and Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport & Highways. “The Government of India approved the development of 35 multimodal logistics parks under Bharatmala Pariyojana to centralise freight consolidation and reduce logistics cost,” Gadkari said. “Providing seamless modal shift, MMLPs will ensure that cargo is swapped/shifted from and to waterways, dedicated freight corridors and road transport,” he added.

Indian Railways has strengthened trade and commerce in Telangana with the commencement of freight operations. First freighter train arrived at Medak Railway Station on the newly commissioned Akanapet-Medak line. This will enable local traders to ferry their goods across the country. “Marking commencement of freight operations, the first goods train arrived at Medak on the newly commissioned railway line. This will enable local traders transport localgoods across the country,” announced G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Culture, Tourism And Development Of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Government of India on Twitter.

To facilitate seamless logistic movement of Goods and Parcel service, Department of Posts in collaboration with Indian Railways has developed a customized Logistics solution for e-commerce players and MSMEs called Express Cargo Service. While Veena R. Srinivas, Chief Postmaster General, Maharashtra Circle briefed regarding the new initiatives of Department of Post and the prospects of logistics in Maharashtra Circle, G V L Satya Kumar, DRM, Western Railways discussed about the extension of collaboration throughout Maharashtra and beyond and Amitabh Singh, Postmaster General (Mails & BD), briefed about the operational details of Express Cargo Service. The first consignment of Express Cargo Service was despatched from Mumbai Central Railway Station through Gujarat Express. The launch of this product will be beneficial for timely delivery of goods and cargo from the industrial hubs located in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad Region.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has commenced a new bonded trucking service with Celebi Delhi Cargo Terminal Management India. The service connects Pune to Delhi airport for worldwide exports from DIAL. “This is an excellent service initiative that provides seamless connectivity to the efficient Celebi Cargo terminal at Delhi.  It is a great collaboration between DIAL and Celebi,” said an official Linkedin post. Celebi has also extended e-CSD facility to freight forwarders at DIAL. In March 2022, Celebi became the first cargo terminal operator (CTO) in India to offer electronic cargo security declaration (e-CSD) for its airline partners. Now, with the integration of e-CSD option for freight forwarders, Celebi reassures its commitment to continue investing in technology for offering better experience for cargo community at large.   

First test shipment from Russia comprising two 40-foot containers of wooden laminate sheets is all set to reach Mumbai via Iran by freight train. The shipment is currently underway from St. Petersburg via Iran. “The intermodal shipment is sent via the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), the mega project that has been under development for many years,” said official reports. The Russian cargo departed St. Petersburg for the Caspian Sea port city of Astrakhan. In Astrakhan, the cargo will be reloaded to cross the Caspian Sea to Iran’s Anzali Port, where they will be ferried by road through Iran to port city of Bandar Abbas. The goods will again be loaded onto ships at the Iranian port to be delivered to India’s largest container port in Navi Mumbai. The total transit time may be 25 days, the reports added.

The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) and NEC have collaborated to provide logistics visualization services that would help to streamline India’s complex logistics supply chains and reduce logistics costs. An official statement said, “India’s rapid economic growth has been causing trouble for the country’s aging logistics infrastructure. Transporting goods around the country takes a long time and there are frequent delays. It is difficult to know exactly where shipments are at any given moment. Wishing to avoid the risk of running out of stock, consignors in the manufacturing industry have tended to overstock their inventories. The added costs of navigating complex logistics supply routes and overstocking have created barriers to attracting foreign investment and enhancing international competitiveness.” Piyush Sinha, CEO of DMICDC Logistics Data Services (DLDS), a joint venture company between DMICDC and NEC also stated, “The logistics cost is probably 13 to 14 per cent of total GDP. This must reduce to 7 to 8 per cent to make our exports more competitive.”

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.