Railways slashes charges for moving containers

The Indian Railways has decided to charge less for moving some categories of containers. After deciding, in November 2012, to raise haulage rates by up to 31 per cent in two installments — in December 1, 2012, and February 1, 2013, the Railway Ministry has now decided to lower the rates by five per cent in two segments — 10-20 tonne cargo in twenty feet equivalent unit (TEU) containers, and 20-40 tonne cargo in forty feet equivalent (FEU) containers.

The Ministry's decision follows a plea by the Association of Container Train Operators. The charges for movement of empty wagons will be cut by 13 per cent. The cuts become effective April 1. Both Container Corporation of India (Concor), the largest container train operator with over 70 per cent of the market, and Gateway Distriparks (GDL), a listed firm, plan to cut tariffs.

For the operators, haulage rate accounts for 65-70 per cent of operating cost. According to Concor Managing Director Anil Kumar Gupta Concor is planning to pass on the benefit to customers.

Sachin Bhanushali, Deputy CEO, Gateway Distriparks, explained that in segments where they were losing competitive edge with road transporters, the Ministry has reduced haulage rates by up to 8 per cent. GDL plans to pass on the benefits to its customers for loaded containers.