India's rail freight traffic to increase 16-fold in 2012: report

FREIGHT cargo moved by container rail operators based in India is expected to rise 16-fold over the next three years, according to a report compiled by Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) and SSKI Securities.

Container rail movement accounts for two per cent of the total freight market of three billion tonnes, reports India's Business Standard.

The prediction comes on the back of plans by Container Corporation of India Ltd (Concor) and private operators to raise capacity by 60 per cent by 2011-12, which is expected to increase the volume of container cargo transported by rail from six million to 97 million tonnes.

With this rise, the document predicts that nearly six per cent of cargo transported by road will shift to being transported by rail.

To handle the expected growth, container rail operators plan to add 185 rakes (variable number of railcars linked into designated units) in the next three years, the report said. It noted that market leader Concor, which handled 2.3 million TEU of container cargo in the last financial year, already has a fleet of 218 rakes.

The report added that India's container traffic has increased at a compounded annual growth rate of 15 per cent since 1991, due to rising external trade.
 

Source: SchedNet