The Hindu Business Line : India Infra may start container train service from end-May

Kolkata April 19 India Infrastructure & Logistics (II&L), a private container train operating company in which APL, the shipping and logistics arm of Singapore-based NOL, holds 76 per cent equity stake, hopes to launch its service from end May.

Hindustan Infrastructure Projects & Engineering, promoted by Mr Rajiv Chandrasekhar, holds the balance 24 per cent.

"We will take delivery of the first rake in Kolkata some time in the middle of May," a spokesman for II&L told Business Line on Thursday. The second rake would be delivered in June and the balance seven rakes by January/February 2008, he said. Kolkata-based Titagarh Industries is manufacturing the rakes.

II&L, however, is yet to firm up the terminal from which it will run its services on the Delhi-JNPT route. "Ours is a Rs 50-crore licence that permits us to operate on any route, including the busiest Delhi-JNPT route," he said. The company, it is learnt, is in talks with both the Container Corporation of India for its Dadri terminal and Worlds Window, a private firm, for its Loni terminal.

Sonepat terminal

The spokesman, however, declined to say anything in this regard, except commenting, "nothing has been finalised as yet". He confirmed that II&L would set up its own terminal at Sonepat for which 50 acres of land had already been acquired. "Our own Sonepat terminal should be ready for operation by the middle of 2008," he said.

While II&L's services would generally be APL-focussed, it was indicated that a good deal of attention would also be paid to non-APL customers. "It may not be a prudent policy to concentrate only on the captive traffic and we, therefore, propose to make our services acceptable also to non-APL customers," the spokesman observed, pointing out that II&L would provide to its customers tailor-made solutions with accent on reliability. "Our services have to be qualitatively different from those being offered by our competitors."

With II&L starting its services, the number of private container train operating companies actually running services will rise to four, the three others that have already launched services being Bothra Shipping, Hind Terminals and Boxtrans.

In all 14 firms have secured licences from the Railways for offering the services.

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