Pvt railway terminals in pipeline

Aiming to ease congestion at major freight terminals, the railway ministry is mulling over a proposal to involve private players for development of their own terminals.

"There is a need for involving private players in the development of terminals. The ministry is currently finalising the terminal development policy draft," said a senior railway ministry official.

"The draft will be soon put before the Railway Board for approval," said the official.

"Once approved, the policy will find mention in the railway budget also. The policy will define the role of the private players, facilities to be extended to them and other related issues," said the official.

He added that it would be done on a public-private partnership basis.

Admitting that some of major goods sheds were in pathetic condition with bad road links and virtually no facilities for labourers or merchants, the official said development of the terminals will go a long way in boosting the freight traffic.

Besides involving private players, railways have also identified 50 terminals to be upgraded across the country at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore.

"We have selected the terminals on the basis of traffic flow and congestion. Those terminals dealing with major commodities where the traffic is more than 15 rakes a month are being selected for upgrade as model terminals," said the official.

These 50 terminals are mostly in metros and industrial centres, said the official.

These upgraded terminals will have state-of-the-art facilities, including additional lines, platforms, warehouses and concrete approach roads. There will also be separate rooms for labourers and merchants.

Terminal plays a major role in freight traffic as it provides the key interface between rail freight services, other modes of transport and storage facilities. There are about 1,000 active freight terminals connected to the rail network.