India's private intermodal sector open to new schemes

PRIVATE container train operators are interested in freight schemes introduced by the Indian Railways (IR), but want to study details of the new private freight terminal (PFT) and special train operator (SFTO) proposals which allow private operators to set up their own freight terminals.

Private operators Arshiya International, Hind Terminals, Innovative B2B, Boxtrans and Tribco, are agreed on the overall scheme, but have concerns following losses suffered in the early privatisation stage four years ago.

"We have been demanding to be allowed to operate without any additional charge on the existing licence," said president RC Dubey of the Container Train Operators Association (CTOA), reported Mumbai's Moneywise Media.

Arshiya International chairman and managing director Ajay Mittal also wants clarification of the freight terminal policy and revenue sharing from intermodal volume.

The railway will exempt returning empty boxes of freight charges which will allow the private operator to charge its own freight and handling charges. A freight rebate of 12 per cent will operate for a period of 20 years and covers goods of bulk fertilisers, cement, fly ash, chemicals, petrochemicals, steel, etc, but as yet no automobiles.

The operators expressed fears that the scheme may yet fall flat as an earlier one did in the 2005 Own-Your-Wagon-Scheme (OYWS) to fund the procurement of wagons that failed when private firms faced turnaround problems from congestion.
(Source:www.schednet.com)