Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Apr 21, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Apr 21, 2006 |
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Logistics
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Railways Concor in talks with wheel manufacturers Mamuni Das
On track Concor likely to bail out pvt wagon manufacturers by importing wheels The move would ensure early delivery of its order for 1,125 wagons Concor ties up with CWC, Pipavav Railway and MSC (Hind Terminals) Strategic alliances to share container depots and wagons.
A FILE photo of containers being loaded in a goods train.
New Delhi , April 20 Container Corporation of India (Concor) is likely to bail out private wagon manufacturers by importing wheels to ensure smooth supply of wagons for its own requirements. This would ensure a relatively early delivery of Concor's order for 1,125 wagons, which the PSU is presently finalising. Bidders are unable to provide the exact and desired delivery dates for the flat wagons since there is a shortage of wheel supply in the world market. Concor imports wheels for wagon orders placed in Indian Railways' workshops given the shortage of rail wheels in the country. "We are in talks with seven-eight (wheel manufacturing) firms abroad to find out the cost and possible delivery dates. Though we had this practice only for Indian Railways' workshops, now the private companies are also saying that the timing of their wagon delivery would depend on when they get the wheels," Mr Rakesh Mehrotra, Managing Director, Concor, told Business Line. The 1,125 wagons would be orders for the fiscal 2007-08, apart from the present pending orders for 1,400 wagons. "We expect delivery of about 25 rakes this fiscal," said Mr Mehrotra. Concor's existing wagon fleet comprises about 5,130 high-speed wagons, 1,357 BFKI wagons which Concor had acquired from Indian Railways and upgraded with air brakes, and over 1,000 Indian Railways' wagons that are being phased out.
`Combined wagon' acquisition
Interestingly, Concor may opt for "combined wagon acquisition" with other companies that have recently acquired licences. It is also in talks with two-three players amongst those that have recently acquired licences for running container trains for possible tie-up, including Reliance Industrial Infrastructure. It has already tied up with the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), Pipavav Railway Corporation Ltd and MSC (Hind Terminals) — all of whom have acquired licences to offer containerised services in rail tracks. "With these companies, we would have long-term, strategic alliances that would include sharing of container depots and wagons. Also, we are open to the possibility of setting up new terminals and acquiring wagons along with them," said Mr Mehrotra adding, "combined wagon acquisition would improve the negotiation capability with wagon manufacturers". In fiscal 2005-06, Concor has recorded a net profit of Rs 502.63 crore against Rs 428.60 crore in the previous fiscal, as per unaudited results. Income from operations is at Rs 2,440.79 crore against Rs 2,003.49 crore in 2005-06. The organisation has paid Rs 1,273.32 crore in 2005-06 as haulage charges to Indian Railways against Rs 985.84 crore in 2004-05.
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