Category Archives: Rail/Road

Three dedicated industrial corridors in Bengal will be created to reap the benefits of the Centre’s Amritsar-Dankuni freight corridor, which aims to boost trade and commerce between the eastern and northern parts of the country. “We will set up three dedicated industrial corridors — Dankuni-Haldia, Dankuni-Kalyani and Dankuni-Raghunathpur — to boost industrial activity in the state… We are now focusing on industrialisation and creation of jobs after ensuring social security schemes,” said chief minister Mamata Banerjee. The eastern freight corridor project — also referred to as Amritsar-Dankuni freight corridor — had been initiated in 2006 and was expected to be completed by 2021. “But because of the pandemic, the project was delayed. It is expected that the freight corridor is likely to be functional by the later half of 2022,” said a source. Sources at Nabanna said the three industrial corridors once made operational would draw investment to several sectors. “Once the work on the freight corridor is completed, Dankuni will assume the role of a major land port in the state. As there is not enough land in and around Dankuni to set up large industries, connecting areas that have land with dedicated corridors will surely help in drawing investments,” said a senior government official. According to sources, several industrial parks have already been set up in Raghunathpur in Purulia and Kalyani in Nadia. As land is available in those two areas, the government can easily provide plots to the industrialists.

In the month of January 2022, the national transporter recorded the highest ever freight loading of 129.11 million Tonnes, marking it as the 17th consequent month of growth in freight loading i.e. from September 2020 to January 2022. According to the Railway Ministry, Indian Railways registered 107.56 MT freight loading in January 2019, 110.58 MT in January 2020, 119.55 MT in January 2021, and 129.11 MT in January 2022. Indian Railways, a few days ago, announced that the East Coast Railway became the first zonal railway to achieve 200 MT freight loading in 2021-22. The zone has achieved 200 million Tonnes in loading, recording a growth of 26.67 million Tonnes, which is an increase of 15% than the corresponding period of last fiscal, i.e., from 1 April 2021 to 14 February 2022. The ECoR has loaded 200.50 million Tonnes of freight during the period as against 173.82 million Tonnes of freight carried in the corresponding period of last fiscal. The zonal railway has achieved this in just 320 days as against 360 days loaded in the corresponding period of the last financial year.

The economic corridor is among the projects, that are included to be tracked as part of Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP), launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. NMP envisages breaking departmental silos and bringing in more holistic and integrated planning and execution of projects. Chennai-Surat economic corridor is under various stages of execution in Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Gujarat. Some of the packages have already reached the bid stage. The project is envisioned as a combination of 2 partially access-controlled economic corridors (Chennai-Solapur and Solapur-Surat) and will include construction of greenfield stretches and upgrading brownfield sections. The corridor will pass through Nashik, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Kalaburgi outskirts, Kurnool, Kadappa, and Tirupathi linking the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu. While the Surat –Solapur Economic Corridor (via Nashik – Ahmednagar ) will be 564 km long, the Solapur Chennai Economic Corridor (via Kurnool) will be 707 km. The stretches between Surat and Ahmednagar via Nasik and Akkalkot-Mahabubnagar section that links Maharashtra with Telangana will be developed as greenfield alignments. The greenfield portion of the corridor will be close to 520 km. The rest of the corridor will upgrade existing two-lane roads. The project will be developed on Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) that NHAI has preferred till recently. The project is estimated to cost anywhere between Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 crores. Besides creating a third route by road between Chennai and Mumbai, the corridor seeks to reduce the distance roughly by 150 km between the two cities. Currently, heavy vehicles from Chennai and other parts of the State take a detour via Karnataka to reach Mumbai passing through a 1,604-km distance via Bengaluru, Tumukuru, Chitradurga, Davangere, …

Smartr Logistics, a trademark of Smart Express Private Limited, has carved a niche in the express logistics industry by offering same-day interstate delivery. The logistics firm has been executing multiple inter-state same-day deliveries across the country. Some of the notable routes are from North to South; East to West; Metros to Non – Metros etc. This has helped Smartr customers in savings by reducing their inventory carrying/working capital cycle by 3-4 days and thereby reducing their inventory holding cost. The start-up has also enabled a technology that allows customers to track shipment 24×7, offering best-in-class first and last-mile services to its customers. The technology is easy, convenient, and ensures consignment is tracked through the entire journey, thus instilling transparency and fairness. Commenting on the 12–18-hour delivery services Yogesh Dhingra, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Smartr Logistics said, “We invest in potential, not just assets. We are optimally using India’s air network to directly connect destinations thus reducing the time for transits and diversions. We also work around customer’s clock, supporting in flexible pickup and delivery timelines. These facilities help our customers with faster and more prompt services. “

The Indian Railways is ramping up their game with plans for door-to-door delivery of goods to individual as well as bulk buyers. The news comes soon after the Union Budget announced further integration of Railways into the logistics ecosystem of the country. Indian Railways is now conducting test runs for the non-conventional freight traffic, tracing the footsteps of e-commerce and 3PL companies, in its own unique manner. The Indian Railways’ website will provide basic estimate of time and cost of the delivery. Plus, there will be an app to generate receipts with QR codes which can be used by the customers to track their shipments. The customers can either drop their packages at designated drop-off locations or get them picked from a location of their preference (home, office). Railways will transport the goods, while India Post and other delivery partners will be making the doorstep delivery of the shipments. Some railway zones have been asked to develop blueprints for this plan. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation is also on board with the Indian Railways and the plan is to launch the first service by mid 2022 in Delhi NCR and Sanand in Gujrat. Another project is in the pipeline for Mumbai. “We are targeting white goods, small items as well as aggregators who can avail of the service.” said a DFCC official.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari laid emphasis on bringining down the fuel and thereby the logistics cost, the speed limit for vehicles on expressways is soon to be increased, adding that rules and regulations in this regard would be changed. Gadkari who inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for several road development projects worth Rs 21,559 crore in Andhra Pradesh, while addressing the public noted that the Indian exports are struggling due to the high logistics cost. “Our logistics cost is 16-18 percent whereas it is 8-10 percent in China and 12 percent in Europe and the USA. That’s one of the problems with our exports since the costs are high. We are going to accept this challenge and reduce the logistics cost to 8-10 percent,” Gadkari said. He said “time has come” to change the rules and regulations related to speed limits on expressways as access-controlled expressways were crucial to reduce fuel costs. Stating that his ministry is equipped with enough funds, the minister announced the Centre’s decision to build 22 greenfield expressways across the country as road infrastructure was vital, including six in Andhra Pradesh. “Ports, waterways are very important. Road construction is equally important. And, as far as development is concerned, we don’t want to discriminate anybody, because the country belongs to everybody,” he observed.

CEVA Logistics connects Turkey, while offering daily connections between the Halkali terminal in Istanbul and Duisburg in Germany. A block train solution links Vietnam and Germany via China. At the same time, the company also increased its multimodal services linking China with southeastern Asian destinations like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The multimodal connection between China and Southeast Asian countries was already there for CEVA. The company launched it in June 2020, at the peak of the Covid pandemic, as a response to the decreased flights, capacity limits, operational restrictions and waiting times in border crossings. Between the Halkali terminal in Turkey and Duisburg in Germany, CEVA Logistics will run daily trips with a transit time of six days. In this direct connection, it will deploy its own mega-box trailers and 45 High Cube Pallet Wide (HCPW) containers. As for Vietnam-Germany, the company launched a block train service that runs to Europe after passing through China. CEVA says that this service can also be combined with other multimodal truck-rail and sea-rail solutions to enhance connectivity between Southeast Asia and Europe. The service’s launch results from a very successful year, where CEVA saw its China-Europe services more than doubling. In 2021, the company operated 135 block trains compared to 50 in 2020.

India’s leading commercial EV manufacturer Altigreen raises ~Rs 300 crore (approx. US$ 40 Million) through its Series A round, to boost its EV manufacturing and launch new products including LCVs and strengthen its countrywide presence. With its road-ready commercial EVs, powered by its proprietary drivetrain technology the company is already changing the face of last-mile delivery and, with this funding, will rapidly accelerate towards its next phase of growth. The freshly raised funds will be utilized to ramp up production capabilities, accelerate R&D, fast-paced EV adoption, and develop a robust Pan-India network to offer the best and cleanest last-mile transportation solutions in India. The investment is led by Sixth Sense Ventures, along with Reliance New Energy (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited), Xponentia Capital, Accurant International, USA, and Momentum Venture Capital, Singapore.

Seven Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor units will be added to GEODIS’ fleet of prime movers in the Asia-Pacific Region (APAC). The leased vehicles are equipped with the latest security and safety technology and will be utilized on the logistics operator’s owned network in Southeast Asia. Supplied by the manufacturer’s Malaysian distributor, Hap Seng Trucks Distribution Sdn Bhd and leased from Euroasia Total Logistics (ETL), the new Actros 5 models will be the first of their type to be sold by Mercedes-Benz in Malaysia. GEODIS has recently expanded its road network in the region with service destinations in Vietnam added to its existing full and partial load service linking Singapore with Malaysia and Thailand. The network will eventually connect with Chinese markets on a day-definite, door-to-door basis delivering a road transport alternative to the more costly air, and slower ocean, options. Lakshmanan Venkateswaran, Sub-Regional Managing Director – South East Asia of GEODIS said, “The rapid expansion of our road mode offerings along the spine of Southeast Asia’s economic backbone has resulted in more than 50% increase in volumes since the service’s inception in late 2019. Linking Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, and now into Vietnam our owned network brings reliable transit-times and cargo security. This new equipment will further enhance these service attributes and aid the fast-growing businesses of our high-tech, retail, ecommerce and FMCG customers.”

AVG Logistics has recently expanded its existing rail freight segment – running on various routes throughout the country – and has transformed into a multi-modal, end-to-end logistics services provider. “We have introduced rail services for express, FMCG, automotive, e-com and other industries on all major routes ex north to east , west to east, north to south & return. We have become a true multimodal logistics company, catering to all major industries for end to end solutions via road, rail, coastal, air and cold chain solutions.” said Vinayak Gupta, Vice-President, AVG Logistics. Maintaining the growth and pace of other existing modes of transportation, the leading homegrown logistics company has ventured into rail logistics with the aim to boost parcel business and give hastened yet safer and affordable services to their new as well as existing customers. Another factor considered for the crucial diversification of their service portfolio was the increasingly volatile fuel prices and their burgeoning effect on the operational costs for their customers.