Indian Railways Freight Reforms Boost Bulk Cement Movement

13 Feb 2026 CW Team

Discounts for empty return movement on a GTKM basis have also been offered to improve economics for users. Trade response to the GTKM charging scheme has been described as encouraging by officials, and several cement producers have approached CONCOR to use tank containers. The reforms are projected to reduce overall freight costs for bulk cement movement, lower fuel consumption and reduce emissions by shifting tonnage from road to rail.

The earlier charging structure had applied haulage on a per TEU basis with distance slabs and offered graded discounts for empty return movement of 50 per cent in the first year, 40 per cent in the second year, 30 per cent in the third year, 20 per cent in the fourth year and 10 per cent in the fifth year, with no discount from the sixth year onwards. That mechanism had been found unattractive by cement producers and had deterred modal shift from road to rail. The new GTKM approach is intended to create a win?win situation for the Railways and its customers.

CONCOR is also supporting terminal investments to enable faster turnaround and reduced handling losses compared with bagged consignments, which should improve plant to market efficiency. The adoption of tank containers and silo handling is expected to shorten transit cycles and lower handling costs while contributing to sustainability goals. Officials indicated that deepening these reforms and marketing the schemes will be central to attracting additional loading onto the rail network.

Indian Railways has revised freight charging on a gross tonne kilometre (GTKM) basis and introduced incentives that are encouraging cement companies to shift bulk cement movement to rail. The Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) is facilitating silo infrastructure at its terminals and promoting tank container operations to lower logistics costs and emissions. The Railways reduced charges on a GTKM basis from Rs zero point nine zero to Rs zero point eight five per tonne per kilometre, which has made rail movement more competitive against road transport. Discounts for empty return movement on a GTKM basis have also been offered to improve economics for users. Trade response to the GTKM charging scheme has been described as encouraging by officials, and several cement producers have approached CONCOR to use tank containers. The reforms are projected to reduce overall freight costs for bulk cement movement, lower fuel consumption and reduce emissions by shifting tonnage from road to rail. The earlier charging structure had applied haulage on a per TEU basis with distance slabs and offered graded discounts for empty return movement of 50 per cent in the first year, 40 per cent in the second year, 30 per cent in the third year, 20 per cent in the fourth year and 10 per cent in the fifth year, with no discount from the sixth year onwards. That mechanism had been found unattractive by cement producers and had deterred modal shift from road to rail. The new GTKM approach is intended to create a win?win situation for the Railways and its customers. CONCOR is also supporting terminal investments to enable faster turnaround and reduced handling losses compared with bagged consignments, which should improve plant to market efficiency. The adoption of tank containers and silo handling is expected to shorten transit cycles and lower handling costs while contributing to sustainability goals. Officials indicated that deepening these reforms and marketing the schemes will be central to attracting additional loading onto the rail network.

Infrastructure Urban

02 Jun 2026

VECV Sales Rise 7.8 Per Cent In May 2026

VE Commercial Vehicles recorded sales of 7,978 units in May 2026, compared to 7,401 units in May 2025, registering growth of 7.8 per cent. This included 7,789 units from the Eicher brand and 189 units from the Volvo brand.Eicher branded trucks and buses reported sales of 7,789 units during the month, up 7.3 per cent from 7,258 units a year earlier. In the domestic commercial vehicle market, Eicher sales rose 9.1 per cent to 7,375 units from 6,758 units in May 2025.Exports declined 17.2 per cent to 414 units from 500 units in the corresponding month last year. Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses recor..

Infrastructure Urban

02 Jun 2026

Table Space Strengthens DESYN Leadership Team

Table Space has announced strategic leadership appointments within DESYN, its integrated Design and Build business, as it looks to strengthen operations across key enterprise and GCC markets in India. DESYN was launched as a strategic extension of Table Space’s workspace solutions portfolio to meet rising demand for agile, high-quality and rapidly deployable enterprise workspaces.Shruti Ookabhoy has joined DESYN as Executive Director and will lead the Design vertical, focusing on design capability, operational excellence and team development across markets. She brings over 22 years of experi..

Infrastructure Transport

02 Jun 2026

Concord Associate Bags Rs 2.79 Bn Kavach Order

Concord Control Systems said its associate company, Progota India, has received a Rs 2.79 bn domestic order from Indian Railways for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of on-board Kavach 4.0 loco equipment.The order is scheduled for execution within 12 months and strengthens Concord’s role in India’s railway safety and signalling ecosystem. Kavach is India’s indigenous automatic train protection system, designed to improve operational safety by helping prevent signal passing at danger and reducing collision risks.Gaurav Lath, Joint Managing Director, Concord Control Syst..