The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Congestion at port gate worries shipping trade

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 17, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Congestion at port gate worries shipping trade

Correspondent

600 lorries pass through the railway gate round the clock

Need for construction of rail over bridge
Stranded vehicular traffic poses biggest problem

Kakinada: The railway level-crossing near the Port railway station has become a major traffic bottleneck and proved a perennial problem to the shipping trade and the port users as well, with lorries getting stranded for longer periods, as most of the time the get remains closed for clearing the railway traffic. The gate is the only way to the new port and three fourth of the jetties and the warehouses besides the railway sidings. Majority of the lorries traffic for both the anchorage port and the deep water port is routed through the railway level-crossing. Lack of proper infrastructure facilities and the improvised railway sidings on one side and the traffic bottleneck at the Railway level-crossing on the other has proved to be major worry for the shipping trade. On an average 600 lorries with various loads of cargo passes through the railway gate round the clock. ‘The Cocanada Chamber of Commerce has represented the matter to railway officials and even to the then Minister of State for Railways Bandaru Dattatreya during his visits few years ago on the need for construction of a Railway Fly Over Bridge but with out success. Because of the lorries getting stranded at the railway sidings, the cargo movement was getting delayed leading to payment of demurrages .It is really a major problem for the trade’ said V. Raghavulu Babu president clearing and forwarding agents association.

Traffic needs

Railway officials also, of late recognised the need for construction of a railway over bridge, taking in view the present traffic needs and also to cope up with the impending accelerated industrial growth with the sanctioning of two special economic zones in the vicinity of port. But under the procedure, the requisition should come from Sate Government, as it has to share the cost of construction of the bridge.

The local MLA Mutha Gopalakrishna has recently gave a representation to the new GM of South Central Railway on his first visit to the port city during June seeking sanction of the fly over bridge to tide over the traffic congestion at the Port level crossing. On an average around 32 trains including 20 good trains and 12 express and passenger trains passes through the railway gate and for every goods train the closure of gate is invariably around 20 minutes and for others it is 10 minutes. But for clearance of the stranded vehicular traffic it takes longer period there by posing a biggest problem for the Port users.

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