Russia-based FESCO Transportation Group dispatched 53 container trains from Vladivostok in one week. In particular, 49 railway trains departed from the Commercial Port of Vladivostok (CPV) and the remaining four began from rear container terminals in Vladivostok.

The total loading of the box trains was more than 7,000 TEUs. Moreover, the dispatch of four trains was organised using the technology of combined trains, which helps to unload the railway junction of Vladivostok.

The transmission of 53 container trains is a record for FESCO, with the previous one set in December 2022, when the company moved 50 container trains with 6,800 TEUs from Vladivostok in one week.

KAZAKHSTAN Railways (KTZ) reports that freight traffic on its network set a new record of over 252 billion tonne-km in 2022, up 5.2% on the year before. Over the last 20 years the amount of freight carried by KTZ has doubled.

KTZ says that the new record was due to “a change in logistics,” an increase in the distance that consignments were moved and a rise in the quantity of mining and metallurgical products being shipped for export.

Freight traffic between Kazakhstan and China also set a new record of 23 million tonnes in 2022, up 14% from 2021. Export traffic from Kazakhstan increased by 13% and imports by 9% year on year.

To meet increased demand, KTZ says that a feasibility study is now being developed for the construction of third railway between the two countries, running from Ayagoz in Kazakhstan to Bakhty near the Chinese border.

Of the 250 million tonnes of freight carried by KTZ in 2022, hard coal accounted for 106.6 million tonnes, an increase of 600,000 tonnes on the year before. Domestic coal traffic amounted to 74.4 million tonnes.

In 2022 grain traffic reached a total of 10 million tonnes, 12% up on the year before. Export grain traffic was up 18% at 8 million tonnes. KTZ carried 3 million tonnes of milled products, up 20% on 2021.

During the last three months of 2022, KTZ had to contend with a sharp increase in demand for grain transport when a record 1.5 million tonnes of grain equivalent were carried. This was due to the imposition of export quotas on wheat and flour between April and September.

The Railways will start a Gati Shakti Express Cargo service for delivery of goods. The special train for this purpose will be called the Rail Post Gati Shakti Express. This will be a joint project of the Indian Railways and India Post. The project aims to provide door-to-door parcel service for common Indian residents.

Under the joint parcel project (JPP), Indian Railways has partnered with Indian Postal services for door step collection and delivery of cargo. Thus the last mile delivery services will be taken up by Indian Post. Indian Railways will move these Gati Shakti cargo on a timetabled basis using semi-high speed trains. In order to attract cargo to this service, as an initial offer, Indian Railways is offering a 20% discount as compared to the road fairs for moving cargo. More details on the project will be announced during the budget 2023.

The National Rail Plan envisages that the share of freight traffic by rail should go up from current share of 27% to 45% by 2030. The construction of Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) on the important high-density route is an important policy measure by Indian Railways to arrest the trend of falling market share of railways in the country and also will shift the advantage in favour of rail transport. DFC operation will bring-in efficiency in freight operation and enable rail tariff being more competitive because of its following operational/design features:

• Higher throughput per wagon and per train: Run Heavy Haul trains with overall load of 13000 tonne.
• Lower Energy Consumption: Reduce Operation and Maintenances Costs
• Reduction in Transit time: Reduce logistic cost of transportation and better utilization of Rolling stock

Moreover Indian Railway has taken number of multi-pronged strategy to increase its model share in freight segment which includes tariff rationalization and Tariff/freight incentive schemes which includes; diversification of freight basket, Liberalised Automatic Freight Rebate Scheme in Traditional Empty Flow Directions, Rationalization of Station to station rates policy, Rationalization of Merry-Go- Round, Concession in short Lead Traffic, Discount in freight to fly ash traffic booked in Open/flat Stock & covered wagons, Round trip charging for ultra-short lead (upto 50Kms) container traffic, Round Trip Traffic (RTT) Policy, Automobile Freight Train Operator Scheme (AFTO),  Introduction of Cube Container for two wheeler traffic. A New ‘Gati Shakti Multi- Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT)’ policy has also been launched to facilitate development of cargo terminals on non-Railway land, as well as on Railway land (partially or fully) etc.

In addition, various other schemes have also been introduced to attract private investment in General Purpose Wagons, Special Purpose/High-Capacity wagons and Automobile carrier wagons etc.

The divestment of CONCOR to the extent of 30.8% is based on the cabinet committee on Economic Affair (CCEA) approval on 20.11.2019 which is an independent activity and without any relation to para (a) above.

The Master Circular on “Policy for Management of Railway Land” issued on 04.10.2022 permits setting up of Renewable power plants for exclusive use of Railways for a lease period of upto 35 years @ ₹1/- per square meter (sqm) per annum. Further, it permits Hospitals selected through a transparent policy and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan for a lease period of upto 60 years @₹1/- per square meter(sqm) per annum.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.

This is being done to intensify a crackdown on ‘indent mafia’ that corners availability of wagons in advance and profiteers from the scarcity, government said.

The Indian Railways has tightened control over Bangladesh-bound rail freight by mandating that any entity that books a wagon headed for the neighbouring country specify the commodity being transported, said officials.

This is being done to intensify a crackdown on ‘indent mafia’ that corners availability of wagons in advance and profiteers from the scarcity, they said.

An indent is a booking demand raised by a customer seeking to use the railway wagons for transporting commodities.

Earlier this year, the railways had made submission of a letter of credit (LC) while booking an indent compulsory. Details of the LC are fed on the Freight Operations Information System of the Indian Railways. These include information such as LC number, date of issue and expiry, name of bank and beneficiary, tonnage moved by any other mode of transport on the same LC.

Under the revised guidelines, an indent can be placed after feeding in the commodity that will be transported and the route.

The first coal-loaded freight rake was flagged off from Pakur siding on Monday for Ropar Thermal Power Plant in Punjab. With this, the first Gati Shakti Cargo terminal of the Eastern Railway at Pakur came into life. Loading of freight rakes at this terminal was discontinued since April 1, 2015.

This much-awaited movement will fetch ₹1.2 crore Railway revenue per rake with an expected 4-rake loading per day. Earlier, coal rake from Pakur was loaded through joint collaboration of PANEM. The PSPCL (Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd.) Authority assured local people that the company will provide employment for the villagers and arrange for a development programme through CSR.

It will, therefore, provide job opportunities to the local people through various means like deployment as skilled or unskilled labours, supply of vehicles, and another mode from time to time.

Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal Policy was recently launched by the Prime Minister and is expected to be a game changer in the field of traffic transportation in terms of improving speed and mobility, reducing logistic costs, and enhancing capacity. In compliance with the proliferation of the newly implemented Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal Policy adopted by Indian Railways, Eastern Railway’s Howrah Division has started the operation of its first Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal at Pakur.

Minister of public enterprise Pravin Gordhan faces a mammoth task in trying to convince the Chinese government to rein in CRRC e-Loco Supply, a company whose impasse with Transnet has brought the embattled state-owned rail operator to its knees.

The woes facing Transnet has seen many mining houses forgo export income, a situation which also sees the fiscus losing out on taxes.

Exxarro, a mining and renewable energy company said this month that Transnet’s rail problems impacted its ability to export coal, with a year-on-year decline of 32% in its export volumes.

Coal mining house Thungela this week said it lost close to 3million tonnes of export saleable production volumes as a direct result of the poor Transnet Freight Rail performance. The group estimates this loss at about R7-billion in revenue.

Kumba Iron Ore has also slashed its production outlook for the next three years due to Transnet’s poor performance, which it said cost it R10-billion in lost sales.

The Minerals Council estimates bulk commodity exporters forfeited revenue of R50-billion in 2022 when deliveries of minerals by train to ports are measured against targets. In 2021, the loss was R35-billion. Minerals Council members are also reporting full stockpiles at their mines that they cannot send to ports.

President Cyril Ramaphosa this week summoned the leadership of Transnet and directed them to “implement reforms swiftly and completely to turn around the crisis in South Africa’s logistics system”.

“Despite the crisis facing Transnet, we must acknowledge the important progress that has been made in reversing the damage that was inflicted during state capture and recognise that there are many dedicated and hard-working people in the company who are committed to restoring Transnet to its potential,” Ramaphosa said in a statement.

“Transnet must quickly embark on a clear path to take us out of this crisis and ensure that the operation of our railways and ports contributes to the growth of our economy.”

The president’s remarks were followed by a statement from Transnet that Gordhan will visit China next month and meet his counterparts to try and resolve the impasse between it and CRRC, a company implicated in state capture.

Transnet in January said it has reached a deadlock with CRRC, following unwillingness on the part of CRRC to engage with the relevant authorities in South Africa to normalise its operations in the country.

Transnet said it would issue an open, competitive tender inviting any eligible Original Equipment Manufacturer to step in to rehabilitate the non-operational Chinese locomotives. But this effort seems to have yielded no results.

The CRRC locomotives directly impact three major Corridors (North, Northeast and Cape Corridors) that account for about 50% of Transnet Freight Rail’s revenue. The impacted corridors also support three primary mining sector segments, namely export coal, chrome, and manganese.

CRRC was formed out of a merger by China South Rail and China North Rail. The Zondo Commission found that the companies were corruptly awarded a tender in 2014 to supply Transnet with 1,064 locomotives.

The commission also found that Transnet’s then management approved an increase in the price of the locomotives from R38.6-billion to R54-billion with kickbacks paid to Gupta-linked entities. Less than half of the locomotives procured by Transnet were delivered, severely hindering its ability to transport goods.

The South African Revenue Services has since slapped CRRC with a tax bill of more than R3.6-billion.

A project by the ministry of railways for the construction of a broad-gauge double line between Sawai Madhopur and Jaipur in Rajasthan state was examined by the Network Planning Group under Gati Shakti. The project spans about 131 km from Sawai Madhopur to Jaipur and is deemed to be a significant infrastructure initiative.

Upon completion, the project is expected to improve the line capacity to 71 per cent without maintenance block and 80 per cent with maintenance block by the year 2026-27, according to a statement from the ministry of commerce and industry.

The Jaipur-Sawai Madhopur route serves as a feeder to the Delhi-Mumbai route, and it represents the primary conduit connecting Jaipur, its environs, and Mumbai, southern and eastern parts of India. The proposed project would help alleviate congestion in the existing single-line network, resulting in uninterrupted traffic flow.

Further, NPG has evaluated a project proposed by the ministry of railways for the construction of a new broad-gauge line between Anand Nagar Ghughuli and Maharajganj on Northeastern Railway in Uttar Pradesh. The proposed project spans 53 km from Anand Nagar.

The project is expected to enhance the economic development of the region by providing a direct broad-gauge line to the project area. The new line would serve as an alternate and shorter route for trains travelling from Valmikinagar to Gonda via Maharajganj without having to stop at Gorakhpur Junction, according to the statement from the ministry of commerce and industry.

Passengers would benefit from this as the only transportation currently available in this section is by road. Additionally, the railway line is expected to facilitate the movement of cement, fertiliser, coal, and foodgrains. Moreover, the railway line would enable freight movement to Nepal.

Another project by the railways for the construction of new broad-gauge line between Junagarh and Nabarangpur station in Odisha state was examined by the NPG.

The proposed project spans about 116 km from Junagarh to Nabarangpur. The construction of this new line is expected to reduce the distance from Bailadela iron ore mines to various steel plants in the Raipur region by 131 km.

Additionally, it is anticipated that the project would facilitate the logistics of steel plant, and goods sheds at Junagarh Road, Jeypore, Koraput, and other goods sheds on the RV line, which are the points of multi-modal logistics, according to the ministry.

The ministry of commerce and industry said this new line would provide an alternative route for the movement of coal from Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, and Kakinada ports to various steel plants in the Raipur region. The provision of road-rail intermodal logistics is expected to enhance traffic to goods sheds at Jeypore, Junagarh Road, and Nabarangpur.

Last project by the ministry of railways was for the provision of automatic block signalling on freight dense high utilisation network on Western Railway. The project aims to cover 895 route kilometre (RKM) and four major sections of Western Railway in Maharashtra and Gujarat. According to the statement, the benefit of the project includes enhanced line capacity and section speed to 130 kmph from 110 kmph that is likely to lead to cost reduction for the Railways and increase the overall logistics efficiency. This will result in a reduction of train detention and travel time, especially in the Udhna-Jalgaon, Ahmedabad-Palanpur, Ahmedabad-Viramgam-Samakhiyali, and Viramgam-Rajkot sections.