The Hindu Business Line : KDS seeks to lure box traffic from North

In its desperate bid to attract containerised traffic to and from North India, the authorities of Kolkata Dock System (KDS), which is one of the two dock systems of Kolkata port the other being Haldia dock, have urged Container Corporation of India (Concor) to carry piecemeal Exim containers in their domestic rakes instead of insisting on full Exim rake.

Concor has agreed to consider the request as it runs at least one domestic rake every week between its Majherhat terminal located within KDS and the Tughlakabad terminal near Delhi.

But where is the traffic? It is not that north India bound imports in containers do not arrive at KDS at all. According to KDS sources, an estimated 100 containers with imports bound for north India arrive at the dock every month, but the boxes get destuffed within the dock and the cargo is transported by road to the consignees.

The shipping lines, it is pointed out, do not want their boxes carried by train to north India for the simple reason that there will not be enough return cargo (i.e., exports for shipments through KDS) available. It is virtually a chicken and egg situation.

But then the shipping lines cannot be entirely blamed. For the trade, the Tughlakabad/Dadri-JNPT route is the most preferred route for whatever reasons even as JNPT gets clogged with acute congestion problems and the Railway freight between KDS and TKD is lower than that between JNPT and TKD.

However, as it is pointed out, the Railway freight is only a small component of the total cost to the trade. At KDS, there is no service by mainline operators, whereas there is no dearth of such operators at JNPT. Feedering adds to the cost. Also, the intense competition on the TKD/Dadri-JNPT route guarantees competitive rates. The shipping lines offer attractive total packages, covering not only ocean freight but delivery/pickup at the doorstep. Capping it all, the mindset.

The trade, once used to a given pattern, would not like to switch over to a new arrangement unless convinced of the substantial benefits.

In fact, the KDS authorities also took up the issue with the local representatives of the shipping lines, mostly foreign flag carriers. The argument of the shipping lines is simple: the trade has to agree to switch over to TKD-KDS route in preference to TKD-JNPT route.

Meanwhile, the container throughput at KDS is rising, expected to cross 200,000 TEUs by March 31 this year compared to 169,000 TEUs in 2004-05.

Some of the foreign lines that withdrew from KDS to concentrate on Haldia are now offering services covering both the dock systems, it is learnt.

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