Faridabad gets 4th cargo terminal of Gateway Rail

By Jasudha Kirpalani and C.J. Kuncheria

Reuters

The rail unit of logistics firm Gateway Distriparks will start a fourth rail-linked cargo terminal by the end of 2009 as it seeks to improve its efficiency, a senior official said.

The additional terminal will help Gateway Rail increase its fill factor, or the utilisation of its container wagons, beyond the current 78 percent, Sachin Bhanushali, president of Gateway Rail Freight Ltd, told Reuters in an interview on Monday.
"As the number of terminals increase, the network benefit is bound to result into improvement in the fill factors," Bhanushali said. "The plan is to go up to a network of eight to 10 terminals all over India."

Gateway Rail and other peers are looking to seize market share from truck firms to capitalise on the cost-effectiveness of railway transport, especially with firms who want cheaper and more efficient alternatives in a slowing economy.

Its fourth terminal in the north Indian city of Faridabad will cost the firm 350 million rupees over two years, of which 150 million will be spent by March 2010, he said, declining to give details on when the remaining terminals will be added.

The Faridabad investment will be funded through two rupee-denominated lines of credit, he said. Gateway already has terminals in Ludhiana, Mumbai and Garhi.

Gateway Rail, a fully-owned unit of Gateway Distriparks, transports goods like steel, chemicals, paper, meat and grains through containers on railroads. A fifth of its business comes from overseas trade while the rest is from domestic cargo.

The company currently runs 19 trains and may add some more, although Bhanushali declined to give details.