NE BUSINESS BUREAU
NEW DELHI, FEB 26
The pre-bid conference on the allotment of sole rights for the operation of the railways’ “Roll-On–Roll-Off” (RO-RO) service between the New Palanpur-New Rewari section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) was held on Friday through both physical participation as well as video-conferencing.
Ten organisations participated in the pre-bid conference, including the Konkan Railways. The Ro-Ro service consists of the carriage of loaded and empty trucks on flat rail wagons, which will enable door-to-door service, piggybacking on fast and safe movement on rail tracks.
A request for proposal (RFP) in this regard was floated by the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) on February 16.
The initiative will create a win-win situation for all the stakeholders, a statement from the DFCCIL said, adding that the benefits will accrue to the customers, the DFCCIL and the Indian Railways as well as to the society at large.
“Customers will be assured of a faster and assured transit time of 10 hours vis-a-vis 24 hours through road, a saving of around 14 hours. There will be a reduced expenditure on maintenance due to less wear and tear of trucks. Driver efficiency will be enhanced as well as assured safe cargo transit. Currently, the target market share offered is 45 trucks per trip, which is a fraction of the 2,500-3,000 trucks plying on this route daily,” the statement said.
Presently, 2,500-3,000 trucks ply daily between Rewari and Palanpur. The licensee will run two rakes of 45 BRN wagons each with 450 trips per rake, totalling 900 trips in a year. The reserve price is Rs nine lakh and the minimum contract value is Rs 81 crore.
In the first phase, the DFCCIL is constructing the WDFC (1,506 route km) and the Eastern DFC (1,875 route km, including the PPP section of the Sonnagar-Dankuni stretch).
Starting from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab), the EDFC will pass through Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal.
The WDFC, connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to the Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai, will traverse through Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.
