The Hindu Business Line : Railway land lease: Pvt box operators seek level field

The row
Some private operators feel access charges of Concor are `prohibitive' and want Railway intervention
Some private operators admit Concor has a right to protect its own interests.
As a listed entity, I'm answerable to my shareholders, says Concor.

New Delhi March 30 Some of the new container operators are considering a move to approach the Indian Railways seeking land lease on the same terms and conditions that the Railways had extended to Concor (Container Corporation of India) to set up inland container depots (ICDs).

"We would ask the Railway Ministry to ensure level playing field on this issue," said some. However, the most attractive locations on the Railway land (from the point of view of building ICDs) have already been acquired by Concor, point out some industry observers.

THE ISSUE

If the new container operators want to use Concor's ICDs for running container trains, they have to pay access charges. The level of access charges, as decided by Concor, is about 35-40 per cent of Concor's tariff to its end-customers for moving boxes between a port and ICD. The entrants feel the charges are very high.

PVT OPERATOR'S PERSPECTIVE

The new private entrants appear to be divided on the issue. Some operators feel that Concor should offer lower access charges, where as some maintain that Concor, being a commercial organisation, is well within its right to take steps to protect its business. Some container operators point out that the access charges that Concor wants from these players for allowing them to use its facilities are high to the extent of "prohibitive." They feel that majority of the inland container depots of Concor are built on railway land, which Concor got from Railways at "attractive prices."

However, a few private operators said, "We asked Concor for the ICD access charges. When we found they are very high, we moved faster towards making other arrangements (likely building ICDs singly or in partnership). We cannot force Concor to share its infrastructure with us at rates favourable to us."

The Ministry of Railways had made it very clear in the policy document that the operators should build their own ICDs (at least three) within the first few years, said an official.

CONCOR PERSPECTIVE

Concor maintained that it is answerable to its shareholders and would not facilitate its competitors to use facilities of Concor and take away the traffic. The Concor Managing Director, Mr R.K. Mehrotra, said, "These access charges were given only to those players who had approached us wanting to use our ICD facilities, which we have built over 18 years. If they feel the charges are high, nothing prevents them from building their own depots. We obviously have the first mover advantage. But Concor is a commercial entity and is answerable to its shareholders," he added.

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