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Mamuni Das

New Delhi, Nov 20

ETA Engineering, which would launch its container train services on the Loni (National Capital Region)-JN port sector with EXIM traffic on Friday, plans to invest Rs 350-400 crore by 2009-10.

The company, which has a Category I licence (Rs 50 crore) to operate container trains across the country, also plans to start container train operations in the domestic sector over the next few months.

ETA Engineering, a subsidiary of $4 billion Dubai-based ETA Ascon Group, has had a successful trial run on the Loni-JN Port sector and plans to brand its container train services as ‘Freightstar’.

“We would commission ten rakes by March 2008. Out of those, five rakes would be used for moving containers for the EXIM trade on the Loni inland container depot (ICD)-JN Port sector, while the rest would be used to provide service in the domestic sector,” Mr K. Sathianathan, Chief Executive Officer, ETA Engineering-Logistics Business, told Business Line.

The company — which spent about Rs 120 crore for the wagons — has placed orders for wagons from Titagarh Wagons (five rakes) and Jessop (five rakes).

ETA plans to buy 20-25 rakes by 2009-10 fiscal. Each rake comprises 45 flat wagons, which are used to carry containers.

“We are in the process of finalising the wagon order for 2008-09,” Mr Sathianathan said.

ETA plans to be a pan-India container train operator by having “reciprocal” tie-ups with several players in the logistics sector.

Additionally, it would focus on certain niche commodity segments.

“We would have a collaborative strategy. We are in the process of tying up with other container train operators, terminal operators and logistic service providers. All the agreements will be reciprocal,” Mr Sathianathan said declining to name any firms.

For instance, at the Loni inland container depot in the National Capital Region, now there are three container train operators with regular service to JN port—APL (with thrice a week service), CWC (twice a week) and ETA.

“We have decided that the customers’ box should not wait at the terminal,” he said. So if a container booked by some company with APL reaches the ICD on a day when ETA is running a rake, then ETA will take that box to JN port. The Loni ICD is operated by Worlds Window Infrastructure and Logistics.

ETA plans to set up inland container depots in the National Capital Region (south of Faridabad), Nagpur (as the Central India hub), Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat and West Bengal.

“We plan to invest about Rs 350-400 crore by 2009-10, which could be revised upwards depending on our land acquisition plans,” Mr Sathianathan said.

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