Category Archives: Rail/Road

The Indian Railways is ramping up their game with plans for door-to-door delivery of goods to individual as well as bulk buyers. The news comes soon after the Union Budget announced further integration of Railways into the logistics ecosystem of the country. Indian Railways is now conducting test runs for the non-conventional freight traffic, tracing the footsteps of e-commerce and 3PL companies, in its own unique manner. The Indian Railways’ website will provide basic estimate of time and cost of the delivery. Plus, there will be an app to generate receipts with QR codes which can be used by the customers to track their shipments. The customers can either drop their packages at designated drop-off locations or get them picked from a location of their preference (home, office). Railways will transport the goods, while India Post and other delivery partners will be making the doorstep delivery of the shipments. Some railway zones have been asked to develop blueprints for this plan. Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation is also on board with the Indian Railways and the plan is to launch the first service by mid 2022 in Delhi NCR and Sanand in Gujrat. Another project is in the pipeline for Mumbai. “We are targeting white goods, small items as well as aggregators who can avail of the service.” said a DFCC official.

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari laid emphasis on bringining down the fuel and thereby the logistics cost, the speed limit for vehicles on expressways is soon to be increased, adding that rules and regulations in this regard would be changed. Gadkari who inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for several road development projects worth Rs 21,559 crore in Andhra Pradesh, while addressing the public noted that the Indian exports are struggling due to the high logistics cost. “Our logistics cost is 16-18 percent whereas it is 8-10 percent in China and 12 percent in Europe and the USA. That’s one of the problems with our exports since the costs are high. We are going to accept this challenge and reduce the logistics cost to 8-10 percent,” Gadkari said. He said “time has come” to change the rules and regulations related to speed limits on expressways as access-controlled expressways were crucial to reduce fuel costs. Stating that his ministry is equipped with enough funds, the minister announced the Centre’s decision to build 22 greenfield expressways across the country as road infrastructure was vital, including six in Andhra Pradesh. “Ports, waterways are very important. Road construction is equally important. And, as far as development is concerned, we don’t want to discriminate anybody, because the country belongs to everybody,” he observed.

CEVA Logistics connects Turkey, while offering daily connections between the Halkali terminal in Istanbul and Duisburg in Germany. A block train solution links Vietnam and Germany via China. At the same time, the company also increased its multimodal services linking China with southeastern Asian destinations like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The multimodal connection between China and Southeast Asian countries was already there for CEVA. The company launched it in June 2020, at the peak of the Covid pandemic, as a response to the decreased flights, capacity limits, operational restrictions and waiting times in border crossings. Between the Halkali terminal in Turkey and Duisburg in Germany, CEVA Logistics will run daily trips with a transit time of six days. In this direct connection, it will deploy its own mega-box trailers and 45 High Cube Pallet Wide (HCPW) containers. As for Vietnam-Germany, the company launched a block train service that runs to Europe after passing through China. CEVA says that this service can also be combined with other multimodal truck-rail and sea-rail solutions to enhance connectivity between Southeast Asia and Europe. The service’s launch results from a very successful year, where CEVA saw its China-Europe services more than doubling. In 2021, the company operated 135 block trains compared to 50 in 2020.

India’s leading commercial EV manufacturer Altigreen raises ~Rs 300 crore (approx. US$ 40 Million) through its Series A round, to boost its EV manufacturing and launch new products including LCVs and strengthen its countrywide presence. With its road-ready commercial EVs, powered by its proprietary drivetrain technology the company is already changing the face of last-mile delivery and, with this funding, will rapidly accelerate towards its next phase of growth. The freshly raised funds will be utilized to ramp up production capabilities, accelerate R&D, fast-paced EV adoption, and develop a robust Pan-India network to offer the best and cleanest last-mile transportation solutions in India. The investment is led by Sixth Sense Ventures, along with Reliance New Energy (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited), Xponentia Capital, Accurant International, USA, and Momentum Venture Capital, Singapore.

Seven Mercedes-Benz Actros tractor units will be added to GEODIS’ fleet of prime movers in the Asia-Pacific Region (APAC). The leased vehicles are equipped with the latest security and safety technology and will be utilized on the logistics operator’s owned network in Southeast Asia. Supplied by the manufacturer’s Malaysian distributor, Hap Seng Trucks Distribution Sdn Bhd and leased from Euroasia Total Logistics (ETL), the new Actros 5 models will be the first of their type to be sold by Mercedes-Benz in Malaysia. GEODIS has recently expanded its road network in the region with service destinations in Vietnam added to its existing full and partial load service linking Singapore with Malaysia and Thailand. The network will eventually connect with Chinese markets on a day-definite, door-to-door basis delivering a road transport alternative to the more costly air, and slower ocean, options. Lakshmanan Venkateswaran, Sub-Regional Managing Director – South East Asia of GEODIS said, “The rapid expansion of our road mode offerings along the spine of Southeast Asia’s economic backbone has resulted in more than 50% increase in volumes since the service’s inception in late 2019. Linking Singapore to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, and now into Vietnam our owned network brings reliable transit-times and cargo security. This new equipment will further enhance these service attributes and aid the fast-growing businesses of our high-tech, retail, ecommerce and FMCG customers.”

AVG Logistics has recently expanded its existing rail freight segment – running on various routes throughout the country – and has transformed into a multi-modal, end-to-end logistics services provider. “We have introduced rail services for express, FMCG, automotive, e-com and other industries on all major routes ex north to east , west to east, north to south & return. We have become a true multimodal logistics company, catering to all major industries for end to end solutions via road, rail, coastal, air and cold chain solutions.” said Vinayak Gupta, Vice-President, AVG Logistics. Maintaining the growth and pace of other existing modes of transportation, the leading homegrown logistics company has ventured into rail logistics with the aim to boost parcel business and give hastened yet safer and affordable services to their new as well as existing customers. Another factor considered for the crucial diversification of their service portfolio was the increasingly volatile fuel prices and their burgeoning effect on the operational costs for their customers.

Union Road Transport Minister, Nitin Gadkari, announced that the Indian national highway network will cover 2 lakh kilometres within 3 years’ time. He said, “The Indian government is working toward the development of a national highway network of 2 lakh kilometres by 2025”. He further added that the Centre is developing 22 greenfield access control expressways to reduce travel time. He was speaking about the role of infrastructure development in realising India’s $5 trillion economy goal and said, apart from cutting down travel time and fuel cost, highways also help in economic development of a region. This will be achieved through multi-modal connectivity that will provide seamless connectivity for the movement of people, goods and services from one mode of transport to another. Apart from speaking about the expansion of the Indian national highway network, the Union minister also claimed the Centre wants to bring down the cost of logistics to 10 percent from the current 14-16 percent of GDP. “It (cost of logistics in GDP) is 8-10 percent in China and 12 percent in European countries. If we bring this down to 10-12 percent in India, we can compete well in the international market,” Gadkari stated. Gadkari is also looking to raise the speed limit on national expressways from 120 km/hr to 140 km/hr, since expressways in India are currently being constructed to ensure safety and to prevent animals from entering them.

With the first freight train reaching Manipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this will enhance the state’s commerce and connectivity as goods from there will reach all parts of the country. The freight train arrived at the Rani Gaidinliu station in the north-eastern state on January 27, days after a passenger train from Silchar in Assam reached the Bongaichungpao railway station in Manipur. “Transformation of the Northeast continues. Manipur’s connectivity will be enhanced and commerce will be boosted. Wonderful products from the state can travel all over the nation,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter tagging a post of Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region G Kishan Reddy. The Union minister along with his tweet also shared a video of the freight train arriving at the station. “Historic day for Manipur and entire North East, after 75 years of India’s Independence, first goods train reaches Rani Gaidinliu Railway Station, Tamenglong in Manipur. The Narendra Modi government is committed to enhancing infrastructure connectivity and economic prosperity in the NER (northeast region),” Reddy tweeted. The project, which includes the country’s longest train tunnel, will connect Imphal with Guwahati. Taking to Twitter, the Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said, “In yet another milestone, the first ever goods train reached Rani Gaidinliu Railway Station, Tamenglong. The improvement in railway connectivity, under the close supervision of Hon’ PM Sh @narendramodi ji, will immensely improve the socio-economic condition of Manipur.”

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) composite scheme to acquire Sarguja Rail Corridor Pvt Ltd(SRCPL) effective from its appointment date of April 1, 2021. APSEZ said that the company will now consolidate all its rail assets under a single business entity Adani Tracks Management Services Pvt Ltd. “This consolidation allows APSEZ, which is targeting 2,000 km of track length by 2025, to participate in Indian Railways PPP (public-private partnership) projects without having to compete with similar businesses in the Adani portfolio, a position that is in full alignment with the equity interest of minority shareholders,” it said. The statement said that once consolidated, SRCPL will add Rs 450 crore or five percent of APSEZ’s total Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization).

A digital platform for the Gati Shakti national master plan of infrastructure projects will be ready by March 31, 2022. “All infrastructure projects will be mapped on the national masterplan [portal]. 75% of data from Central ministries on their infrastructure projects have already been uploaded. We are now training State governments to share their data. We are hopeful that the national masterplan [portal] will be ready by March-end,” said Amrit Lal Meena, Special Secretary, Department for Promotion of Investment and Internal Trade. The Gati Shakti national master plan (NMP) announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 13, 2021, is a centralized portal, that will be enabling “institutionalizing” planning, designing, and execution among 17 different Ministries in the Centre as well as States. Including projects worth ₹100 lakh crore, the program aims to cut down logistical costs and improve supply chains. “The national masterplan will show us geographical features such as forests, water bodies, mines, religious and archaeological sites and help us plan alignment of infrastructure projects so that we can circumvent these. Earlier, projects would be planned from within the confines of offices,” added Meena. The portal at present has already been populated by 370 “layers” of data critical for infrastructure planning, comprising information about the road, rail, port and inland waterways, aviation, natural gas pipeline, water supply pipelines, telecom infrastructure, forest wildlife, eco-sensitive zones, water resources, rivers, embankments, canals, dams, tourism sites, economic zones, industrial parks. It also comprises features like soil type, seismicity, etc. Once ready, ready, all detailed project reports of infrastructure projects will have to be prepared on the portal, which will be scrutinized and appraised by a Network Planning Group (NPG) at the Centre.