The Hindu Business Line : Container train operators eye car transportation market

New Delhi, April 15 Eyeing a pie of the car transportation market, which is valued close to Rs 1,500 crore annually, container train operators have lined up innovative services. This has also resulted in business opportunities for global firms such as Kar-Tainer International and UK-based AutoRack — which offers specially-designed containers for moving vehicles.

Patli ICD

Adani Logistics, for instance, is moving cars from Maruti Suzuki India’s Gurgaon manufacturing plant — its inland container depot at Patli near Gurgaon — to Mundra port since November. The cars are subsequently moved to Kochi using Shreyas Shipping’s coastal shipping service.

“We have already moved 2,500 cars,” Mr Yogendra Sharma, President, Adani Logistics, told Business Line. Adani Logistics, which has a Rs 50-crore licence to offer container train services, uses special containers of South African firm Kar-Tainer and moves five small cars for every 40-foot unit sized container.

Loni ICD

JM Baxi Group’s container train operations arm, BoxTrans Logistics, has also started moving Maruti Sukuki’s cars from Loni inland container depot (near Delhi) to Visakhapatnam and Bangalore. Currently, it accommodates three cars in a 40-foot standard container.

Moreover, BoxTrans Logistics is buying 400 special containers (called Transracks) from China.

These containers can accommodate four cars in a 40-foot unit and are designed by the UK-based firm Autorack.

Shreyas Shipping is also in talks with other car manufacturers such as General Motors and Hyundai.

“We have already done a test run for Tata Motors to move automobiles from their Pune plant to Kochi. Moreover, we have approached Hyundai Motors to move cars from Chennai-to-northern hinterland,” Mr Anil Devli, Executive Director, Shreyas Shipping and Logistics, said.

Auto carriers

Container Corporation of India had entered into a memorandum of understanding with NYK to start specially designed auto-carriers.

However, the containers are yet to come into operation. “We have started moving Maruti Suzuki’s car transportation from Rewari to Jawaharlal Nehru port,” said official sources.

Other container train operators are also working on plans to tap the car transportation market, but declined to divulge details.

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