With expected surge in volume of goods and passengers in the near future, Indian Railways needs to come up with dedicated freight corridors in order to facilitate swift movement of goods The Indian Railways must spend more towards development of dedicated freight corridors to expedite movement of goods. The message was echoed by experts attending a seminar hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) titled “Auto SCM 2010: Logistics as key enabler to make India a global hub.” In this context, R Chandramouli, senior counsellor at CII Institute of Logistics, Chennai, while speaking to a ShippingBiz360 correspondent, says, “With growth in sectors such as infrastructure, power etc, volume of goods to be transported will increase manifold, thereby making it too tough to depend completely on roadways for the movement of goods. Therefore, it is essential to develop dedicated freight corridors in the country.” Mr Chandramouli also added that these freight corridors should come up near ports in order to make India a global logistics hub.
Freight corridors essential to support passenger density
 Experts also opine that with rapid increase in passenger density in the country, dedicated freight corridors will play an instrumental role in helping railways to cater to passenger needs in a better manner. According to Rajdeepak Bhargava, CMD of Avignon Shipping Company, a mid-sized shipping company in Pune, “Majority of shipping firms and logistics players prefer railways to transport goods across the length and breadth of the nation as it is a cost-effective mode of transportation. This makes railways a key link in the supply chain.” It must be noted that at present goods and passenger trains share the same track, because of which goods trains are halted to give space to passenger trains, thereby slowing down the movement of goods. However, steps have been taken in this direction, with the Ministry of Railways launching its flagship project to construct dedicated freight corridors by incorporating Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) in 2006. DFCCIL aims to set up two corridors (eastern and western) in the first phase across a length of approximately 2,800 km.
Arup Choudhury |
