CONCOR starts new weekly train between Krishnapatnam Port and ICD Whitefield

Sisir Pradhan | The Dollar Business

Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) has started a new train weekly service between Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal (KPCT) and Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Whitefield in Bengaluru. The new freight train service started its maiden run on June 19, 2015 with a full load of import laden containers belonging to traders in Bengaluru city region. Given the fact that due to bad road connectivity and limited rail service to Mangalore Port, majority of importers and exporters in the region prefer other ports like Chennai, Kochi, Krishnapatnam and even Tuticorin. The new weekly rail service will help more efficient and faster transit of containers between the ICD and the port. Due to the new service traders in and around Bengaluru, Hosur, and Chittoor are going be benefitted. The rake has a maximum carrying capacity of 90 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) each way and helps in reducing transportation time from 24-36 hours taken by road to about 18 hours. In addition, it also helps customers to save between $100 – $150 on each container, said KPCT officials. In an e-mail response, Krishnapatnam Port officials said that the train service will benefit importers and exporters of heavy cargo like granite, gherkins, coffee, machinery, etc., which face regulatory issues due to the weight restrictions on road transport. Being located on the east coast, Krishnapatnam Port has proximity to international shipping routes and transshipment ports like Singapore and Colombo, and the port also has one of the deepest drafts in the country to accommodate mainline vessels. Trade insiders say as Chennai Port is reeling under congestion issues, the new service will boost cargo movement between Bengaluru and nearby region and Krishnapatnam. Moreover, the proposed Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor is expected to further give impetus to cargo movement to Krishnapatnam Port. Notably, Krishnapatnam has been earmarked to be developed as a smart city and is expected to boost industrial and economic activities in the region. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his first Budget on 10 July, 2014, has announced that a National Industrial Corridor Authority is being set-up with an amount of Rs. 100 crore to coordinate the development of industrial corridors with smart cities linked to transport connectivity. The Finance Minister said that the master planning of three new smart cities in the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor region — Ponneri in Tamil Nadu, Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Tumkur in Karnataka — will also be completed.  

June 23, 2015 | 05:21 pm IST.