According to the existing regime, the railways charges commoditywise rates based on classification of goods. This list has items such as coal, iron and other goods that are frequently transported using the rail network.
The Indian Railways is considering radically revising its tariff policy to encourage movement of unconventional cargo on the national transporter, said officials.
According to the existing regime, the railways charges commodity-wise rates based on classification of goods. This list has items such as coal, iron and other goods that are frequently transported using the rail network.
The plan is to shift to a single rate per container regime for goods that are not in the current list, with an aim to capture high-value freight such as computer parts, engineering spares, electronic and fast-moving consumer goods, said officials.
“We don’t want to be concerned with what goods are being moved and focus on volumes instead for unconventional cargo,” a senior government official told ET on condition of anonymity.
This principle helped operationalise the roll-on, roll-off (RORO) trucks on train service extensively during the Covid-19 pandemic for carrying oxygen containers to hospitals.
The Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), an exclusive railway network used for moving cargo, has been on the forefront of pushing this change. Administratively the railways treats the DFC as a zonal railway, allowing the railway board to fix freight tariffs on the corridor.
In August last year, the Railway Board allowed DFC to offer discounts for increasing business opportunities.
According to the proposal under consideration, a 40-tonne milk truck can cover a 640-km distance from Palanpur (Gujarat) to Rewari (Haryana) for up to ₹22,000 over the DFC network. This is cheaper than the ₹29,000 one-way trip that would be the usual cost for this service. “Milk suppliers, including Amul and Banas Dairy, that are interested in meeting this demand from these northern regions can avail the service,” the official said, adding that the savings can be availed by any consumer in the rate category.
