Friday, Mar 29, 2024 | Last Update : 03:37 PM IST

  Freight can speed up economic growth

Freight can speed up economic growth

| R.C. ACHARYA
Published : Dec 5, 2015, 6:34 am IST
Updated : Dec 5, 2015, 6:34 am IST

It is interesting to note that of over 23,000 trains running daily on the 65,000-km network of Indian Railways, two-third carry passengers, thereby contributing to just a third of the revenue while th

It is interesting to note that of over 23,000 trains running daily on the 65,000-km network of Indian Railways, two-third carry passengers, thereby contributing to just a third of the revenue while the remaining one-third are freight trains that rake in balance two-thirds of the earnings.

Freight trains are accorded priority all over the world and our railway minister Suresh Prabhu now intends to pull out all the stops in order to give freight a better chance to speed up, grow and win back its valuable business which it has lost over the years to the road sector.

As far as energy consumption is concerned, freight trains are five times more efficient than trucks and are also less polluting. It is a far better option for the nation to meet its transport needs i.e. if it can be an attractive option for shippers, who are forever on the look out for cost-effective alternatives.

Having set the ball rolling for capacity augmentation with no less than 77 projects for doubling, tripling and quadrupling of very high density corridors — that were carrying over 150 per cent of their design capacity — Mr Prabhu has now set his sights on a slew of new initiatives to attract freight business.

Amongst them are facilitating connectivity to new and upcoming ports through public-private partnership, setting up of logistic parks to modernise logistics operations etc. Also on the cards is a suitable pricing mechanism to garner additional revenue from empty flow, with a pilot project for automatic rebate to customers offering traffic through computerised Freight Operations Information System (FOIS) being introduced to gauge customer response.

A new design of parcel vans with better tare (weight of an empty van) to pay load has been developed. This would increase throughout by 25.6 per cent over the existing Integral Coach Factory-type parcel van. The volumetric capacity of 144 cubic metre (CuM) of the existing design has been hiked to 180 CuM, and could prove to be a game changer giving the shipper more value for his money.

CASNUB Bogies (used in freight wagons), which is a standard fitment on BOX wagons, will have a speed potential of 100 kmph. While maximising volumetric capacity, the parcel van will have a higher axle load of 22.9 tonne as against the present 16 tonne.

Additional arrangement for strapping and securing cargo would ensure they don’t shift during the run, while the present single sliding door has been replaced by two, which are extra wide and are in two parts. The 2.4x2.1 (width x height) would enable even forklifts to enter, enabling faster mechanised loading and unloading.

A prototype under manufacture at Texmaco — one of the premier wagon builders in the private sector located in West Bengal — would soon be subjected to speed tests before entering service in April 2016. A refrigerated variant would be next on cards, if and when the demand materialises.

Multimodal Logistics Parks (freight villages) have been planned to convert unused lands along railways’ 650,000 km network and upgrade or modify existing goods sheds. A newly created Transport Logistics Corporation of India Ltd. (TRANSLOC) is proposed which will plan, develop and manage these to handle non-bulk as well as bulk cargo.

By providing support to non-conventional freight such as containers, automobiles, RO-RO (Roll-On and Roll-Off) and other specialised cargo, including setting up a cold chain for perishables, the railways expects to win back high-value business from the road sector.

The PPP model has been a runaway success for port connectivity such as Mundra, Pipavav, Dhamra, etc. and more such projects are on the anvil. The JSW group is set to build a 34-km-long rail line at a cost of `7,700 crore in the next three years or so to connect Jaigarh Port on West coast to a new station to be built at Digni, about 310 km south of Mumbai, on the Konkan Railway.

As announced by Mr Prabhu in his last budget speech, a network of Private Freight Terminals (PFT) will be set up adopting the PPP model. Response from private parties has been good so far with 70 proposals received, out of which 26 have been notified and commissioned. Further, 42 proposals approved in principal are in various stages of finalisation while two proposals are still under examination.

In order to revive Own Your Wagon scheme — which focused on assured supply of a guaranteed number of rakes every month to a customer based on the number of rakes procured by him with freight concessions launched with much fanfare in 2005 — an empowered group consisting of three directors has been set up to resolve all issues pertaining to such individual Liberalised Wagon Investment Scheme (LWIS) proposals.

Reportedly, railway board mandarins are burning a lot of midnight oil to develop another ambitious Special Freight train Operator (SFTO) scheme so that most of the issues pertaining to various stakeholders are addressed before it is launched. For it should not remain a mere acronym, but contribute effectively to Mr Prabhu’s vision of once again making railways the nation’s engine of economic growth.

The writer is former member of the Railway Board