Southern Railway is planning to invest around Rs 650 crore over the next 10 years on the port connectivity projects at Chennai, Tuticorin, Mangalore, Ennore and Kochi.
Southern Railways said the rail co-efficient (percentage of cargo moved by rail) continues to be in the range of 23 to 25 in the last five years. The railway has been handling commodities including coke, coal, containers, fertiliser, cement, iron and steel in and out of these ports.
A major part of which is currently is at Chennai Port. Last year railway moved around 18.6 million tonnes of cargo in and out of the port. As the port’s projected traffic is expected to touch 79.6 million tonnes by 2013-14 it is essential to develop a good connectivity.
The port had already planned a 15-km elevated road corridor, to improve the rail connectivity Southern Railway and Chennai Port is developing a master plan to redesign the rail yard inside the port, said Ittyerah.
Recently two additional lines between Madras Beach and Attipattu, a 19-km strech which connects the Chennai port, are sanctioned by the Railways to double the handling capacity in the next 10 years.
Third line between Kurukkupet and Ennore is ready for commissioning and work is in progress on the line beyond Ennore. With the availability of four lines, the railway would be able to use two lines exclusively for freight and the other two for passenger services, she added.
The Railways have also planned a 88.3 km new line, with an estimated cost of around Rs 445 crore. This would be developed under public private partnership (PPP) model with Ennore Port bearing 50 per cent of the cost, said Ittyerah.
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The new line will be laid between Attipattu, (which is the station from which from the Ennore Port siding takes off), to Putur. This will be an alternate and shorter route for the movement of coal and iron ore from the Bellary Hospet and coal to the Raichur and Rayalaseema Power Plants to and from Ennore and Chennai ports.
In Kochi, a new 8.8 Km line is to be laid from Idapalli station on the Ernakulam - Thiruvanathapuram connecting Vallarpadam at an estimated cost of around Rs 245 crore. This would be funded by the Ministry of Shipping and is being executed by the Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd.
Once the Vallarpadam container terminal commences its operations projected traffic is 1.5 trains a day to begin with and would be increased to 4 trains every day by 2014. A private siding for container facilities inside the port for DP World is also being processed, she noted.
Similarly Railways is planning to upgrade its terminal rail handling facilities in Tuticorin Port with an investment of around Rs 10 crore.