New port-rail container link for Nepal cargo

 To deliver this service, Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) has joined hands with Container Corporation of India (Concor) for a direct container rail service connecting Kolkata and Raxaul-Birgunj on the Nepal border in Bihar. The service will be offered twice a week now.

 If the number of bookings rise, the service would be offered thrice a week. The cost has been fixed at Rs 20,000 per TEU. The cost analysis done by KoPT and Concor indicated that shippers could save up to Rs 8,000-10,000 per TEU (twenty equivalent unit) by opting for the rail route instead of transfer by road.

 The rail connectivity will augment rail borne cargo through Kolkata docks and help it fight poaching of cargo by competing east coast ports, sources said.

 KoPT would offer a special rate to shippers for rail borne container cargo. The basic charge has been brought down to Rs 1,800 from Rs 6,000.

 KoPT sources said shippers will not have to bear problems with road transport, like the poor quality of the highway to Nepal.

 In addition, anti-social elements have blocked loading of trucks repeatedly at KDS. Pilferage was also said to be lower on the rail route than on road.

 The Concor service will transport containers between KDS and Raxaul. Containers will be offloaded at Raxaul and handed over to shippers at Birgunj.

 Nepal being a land locked country, most of cargo was expected to flow from the port to Birgunj. Concor officials said the rate would have been lower but for the fear that most containers would come back empty.

 KoPT would spruce up the rail network within the KDS area. It has entrusted the job of track maintenance to Eastern Railway (ER).

 Three zones have been selected for upgradation and these would deal with foodgrains, Nepal shipments and container cargoes.