The Hindu : Business : Rail container services open to private sector

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Friday, Jan 06, 2006

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Business

Rail container services open to private sector

Special Correspondent

Companies and individuals registered in India will be permitted

OPENED UP: Container movement by rail at Chennai Port Trust. — File photo

NEW DELHI: The Railways on Thursday announced the decision to throw open the container service operations to the private sector for import and export as well as domestic traffic.

"We have decided to permit the private parties to run container trains for import and export and domestic traffic,'' Railway Minister Lalu Prasad told media persons.

Eligibility norms

Unfolding the details about the new container policy that had been in the air for quite some time, he said permission to operate container service could be given to companies, firms and individuals registered in India provided they had an annual turnover or net worth of Rs. 100 crore or more.

The private players, applying for entering the business, would be required to either have a rail-linked ICD (inland container depot) or give an assurance within six months from the date of making the application that the party would construct its own rail-linked ICD (in three years). Another option would be that the party could furnish a lease agreement with an existing rail-linked ICD owner.

Elaborating further, the Minister said the rail routes connected with the ports had been grouped in four categories, with the exception of the Delhi-Mumbai route. Applicants for other routes would have to pay a registration fee of Rs. 10 crore and would be allowed to domestic container trains all over India except the Delhi-Mumbai route. Those applying for the Delhi-Mumbai route would be permitted to operate EXIM container trains on the other three categories also and domestic traffic all over India. The registration fee in their case would be Rs. 50 crore, Mr. Prasad said. Originally the permission to operate container trains would be valid for 20 yeas. It would be extended by another ten years subject to satisfactory working by the applicant.

So far as the process of registration and the policy of container train movement were concerned, these would be uniformly applicable to all applicants including CONCOR (Container Corporation of India), he said adding the Railways would be ensuring a level-playing field for all without any discrimination. In the operation of container trains, the Railway would follow the principle of first-cum-first-served. It would provide engines and drivers and the private operator would have to provide bogies and procure its own rolling stock required for the movement of container trains, the Minister said. While indicating that the Railways might also consider allowing use of its surplus lands for the construction of ICD and multi-modal logistic parks, he said the Railways would make all possible efforts to introduce double stack container trains beginning first quarter of the coming fiscal to reduce the unit cost of operations and enable container traffic to be moved at more competitive rates.

The Minister said the Government was not considering disinvestment of the profit making CONCOR. "Our effort is to attract peace-meal goods being transported by roads.''

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