South Western Railway (SWR) and JSW Minerals Rail Logistics had entered into an agreement under the General Purpose Wagon Investment Scheme (GPWIS) for the operation of seven specialised hopper wagons to load and unload iron ore.
SWR stated that the scheme of Indian Railways allowed the freight customer to invest in leasing wagons and offered a rebate on freight, thus incentivising transportation of bulk cargo by rail. In the long term, policies like GPWIS, by facilitating a shift from road to rail, had the potential to strengthen the supply chain for the core sector industries in the country and reduce logistics costs.
It was noted that this agreement marked a first for SWR. The rake had been manufactured by Titagarh Rail System in Kolkata, and the first rake was expected to be operative from April 2024. JSW Minerals Rail Logistics was investing Rs 290.5 million per rake. A 10% rebate on base freight was granted to the customer for every booking. The agreement had been signed by A Sundar, Chief Commercial Manager/Freight Marketing, SWR, and Sushil Nowal, Executive Vice-President (Planning and Logistics), JSW, in the presence of SWR principal officials such as Satya Prakash Shastri, Aravinda Herle G, and JSW Logistics General Manager Manmohan Shetty.
