The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Rail-side warehouses to be set up

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Sunday, Jul 06, 2008
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Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Rail-side warehouses to be set up

S. Anil Radhakrishnan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Railways, in association with the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), will set up rail-side warehouses in the State to ensure faster freight movement.

Five locations — Kazhakuttam, Kollam, Chingavanam, Ernakulam and Thrissur — had been identified for the purpose, Senior Divisional Operations Manager J. Vinayan told The Hindu here.

Although 12 places had been identified in the Thiruvananthapuram division, the five places shortlisted need no land acquisition, he said. “The plots have been selected in such a way that the proposed warehouses will have rail and road approach,” Mr. Vinayan said.

Agreement with CWC

The Railway Board had entered into an agreement with the CWC for setting up warehouses on railway land. The five plots will be leased to the CWC for 30 years at Rs.1 per square metre. The profit generated from these warehouses will be shared by the CWC and the Railways.

Sketches submitted

The initial sketches of the proposed warehouses were submitted by the divisional authorities to the Chief Transportation Planning Manager, Chennai during a recent meeting.

While business and other feasibility reports are to be worked out by the CWC, the estimate will be worked out by the division, Mr. Vinayan said.

Work to begin soon

“Each warehouse will be 600 metre in length and 15 to 20 metre in width. The warehouse will have a floor area of 12,000 to 18,000 square metres. The work will commence soon and the first of the five warehouses is expected to be commissioned by mid 2009,” he said.

Rail-side warehouses will help in doing away with secondary transportation.

The concept would also help in the public distribution and general warehousing activities of the CWC, Mr. Vinayan said.

The CWC has a network of over 470 warehouses with an approximate capacity of 9.2 million tonnes.

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