(MENAFN- KNN India) New Delhi, Apr 29 (KNN) In a move to bolster its freight operations and alleviate congestion on existing tracks, Indian Railways is set to develop an additional 200 Gati Shakti multi-modal cargo terminals across the country.
This ambitious project, estimated to cost around Rs 14,000 crore, aims to enhance freight earnings and pave the way for faster passenger train movement, reported BL.
According to officials privy to the discussions, each terminal will incur an average cost of approximately Rs 70 crore based on initial estimates. This initiative comes on the heels of a successful fiscal year 2023-24, in which Railways earned over Rs 2.56 lakh crore, with freight services accounting for a staggering 70 per cent of these earnings.
The first phase of the Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal Policy implementation, scheduled for completion by 2024-25, will see the development of around 100 multi-modal terminals. Notably, 77 of these terminals, costing an estimated Rs 5,400 crore, have already been commissioned across states like West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh, among others.
Major industry players, including Concor, Reliance, Adani, Western Coalfields, Wonder Cements, JSW, SECL, IOCL, and BPCL, have invested in these terminals, strategically located at vital industrial hubs such as Paradip, Jasoda, and Dahej.
“Once the first set of 100 terminals are completed by the end of this fiscal year, Railways will tender for 200 more,” revealed an official involved in the discussions.“The average cost of each terminal currently stands at Rs 65-70 crore, though some terminals may cost as low as Rs 50 crore or even higher,” he added.
The Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals can be developed by private players on non-Railway land or even fully or partially on Railway land. For terminals on non-Railway land, operators will identify the location and construct the terminal after obtaining necessary approvals. In the case of terminals on Railway land, the land parcels will be identified by Railways, and the operator will be selected through an open tendering process.
With a current share of 29 per cent in the country's overall freight traffic, up fr0m 27 per cent in 2020, Railways aims to increase this figure to 35 per cent by 2030.
Of the 5,500 million tonnes of cargo carried across the country in FY24, Railways moved approximately 1,600 million tonnes, including 787.6 million tonnes of coal, 181 million tonnes of iron ore, 154 million tonnes of cement, and 114.4 million tonnes of other categories like white goods.
“As these multi-modal terminals come up, there will be faster movement of goods and de-congestion of tracks for passenger trains,” an official stated.
Complementing this plan, Railways will continue to add 5,000 km of new tracks every year for at least the next three to five years, further enhancing the nation's freight and passenger transportation capabilities.
(KNN Bureau)
MENAFN29042024000155011030ID1108152558
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.