should railways........(contd from last post)

-->

(Continued from last post)

Rail Connectivity

Doubling and electrification of Vijayanagram - Rayagada - Titlagarh – Raipur: While doubling of Vijayanagram-Rayagada- Titlagarh Section has almost been completed, Titlagarh-Raipur Section needs to be doubled beside the entire line from Vijayanagram-Raipur is required to be electrified. The estimated cost of the project is about Rs.1330 crore.

Development of separate interchange yard at Mindi: This will help avoid unnecessary movement of trains from Western Section to Reception & Dispatch Yard and will reduce detention of trains thereby enabling railways to directly interchange traffic at the new yard itself. This will also reduce the distance by 20 km. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 50 crore.

Shifting of mechanical facilities at ore exchange yard to a separate yard: The present facility for periodical maintenance examination and other mechanical requirements results in reducing the availability of lines for handling iron ore traffic of the port. As a result, empty rakes from the port get detained in the ore-handling complex without being admitted to ore exchange yard. Therefore, shifting their mechanical facilities by railways to a separate yard is important. The estimated cost of the project is Rs.12 crore (Planning Commission, 2006).

3. The Jawaharlal Nehru Port

The Jawaharlal Nehru Port (J N P T) was at the third position in cargo movement in December 2007 and cargo handled through scaled up by a healthy 25.55% y-o-y when 50.61 lakh tonnes was routed through. The share of JNPT in the total cargo handling at major Indian Ports rose from 9.57% in Dec.06 to 11.17% in Dec.07. Cargo traffic growth at JNPT was supported by increased import, export and transshipment. Imports were up by 29.59% to 23.47 lakh tonnes while export recorded a healthy 21.35% y-o-y rise to 24.72 lakh tonnes during the above month. Trans shipment, which constituted a nominal share in the total cargo handling, too reported a robust 32.24% y-o-y increase to 2.42 lakh tonnes in Dec.07.

The cumulative commodity traffic during April – December 2007 was 4.02 crore tonnes indicating a healthy 23.53% y-o-y growth than 16.24% growth previous year. JNPT occupied a 10.62 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports up from 9.67% in Apr-Dec. 2006. Container traffic, which accounted for a large chunk of total cargo movement at JNPT, was up by a handsome 26.37% y-o-y to 3.74 crore tonnes during the above period.

It may be noted that in future the growth of JNPT is going to be faster as Mumbai being financial capital offer so many benefits to all stakeholder that it is much more easier to do trade from here. Hence the Indian Railways should develop much more traffic handling facilities, than what it presently offer.

Traffic Handled at The Jawaharlal Nehru Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	44815	18.45	9.66
2006(Apr-Dec)	32567	16.24	9.67
2007(Apr-Dec)	40229	23.53	10.62
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	3991	25.35	9.46
Feb 2007	3768	20.46	9.63
Mar 2007	4490	28.14	9.93
Apr 2007	4187	14.03	10.33
May 2007	4214	22.14	9.79
Jun 2007	4205	21.60	10.68
Jul 2007	4330	25.14	10.45
Aug 2007	4529	29.99	11.31
Sep 2007	4410	23.18	11.12
Oct 2007	4682	24.92	10.52
Nov 2007	4612	25.36	10.29
Dec 2007	5061	25.55	11.17

Major Commodity Traffic at Jawaharlal Nehru Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		5866	2189	167.97
Iron Ore		---	---	---
Fertilizer	Finished	---	---	---
	Raw. Mat.	---	---	---
Coal	Thermal	---	---	---
	Coking	---	---	---
Container	Tonnage	50589	51923	-2.56
	TEUs	3953	4060	-2.63
Other Cargo		826	1726	-52.14
Grand Total		57281	55838	2.58

The following projects were under channel for the development of The Jawaharlal Nehru Port -

Name	Cost (Rs. Crore)	Status
Container Terminal (5) Project, Nava Sheva	5000	Announced
Navi Mumbai Multi-Purpose Port Project	3500	Announced
Container Terminal (4) Project	3000	Announced
Container Terminal Project	800	Under Implementation
JNPT Channel Dredging Project	1210	Under Implementation

Total traffic handled during the year ending 31.3.2007 was 40.22 million tonnes. The port is expected to handle traffic of around 73 million tonnes by the year 2013-14. Port is connected to Panvel by a single line Railway track of 28.5 km with a capacity of 18 trains per day in one direction. At the present ICD traffic of about 14-15 trains per day in one direction pass through this track.

To meet future requirements, the Port has already requested Ministry of Railways to provide one more rail track from the Port to Panvel. The work on this stretch commenced in October 2003 and was completed in 2006. The cost of project was Rs. 53 crore, which was borne by the Railways.

JNPT has been steadily growing as a major container hub port in this part of the world. During the current financial year, the port has already crossed 2 million TEU mark and accounts for about 58% of total container traffic of the country. JNPT has already signed concession agreement for shortly taking up development of third container terminal on BOT basis with a capacity of 1.3 million TEUs. JNPT has plans to develop the 4th and 5th terminals in the near future. The port is likely to handle about 73 million tonnes by 2013-14. As per recent traffic survey and traffic forecasting studies, it is estimated that the peak traffic volume generated due to port activity would be to the tune of 3668 PCUs per hour by 2015-16. This would require corresponding augmentation of connectivity of the port. In order to evaluate the requirement of augmenting rail connectivity of the port to meet the demands of increased traffic, JNPT had engaged RITES for conducting a rail logistic study for the planned development of JNPT. The port has projected following requirements for improving rail connectivity of the port. The long term and short-term measures indicated by RITES in their draft report are:

(i) Northern Corridor from JNPT up to Ludhiana via Diva, Vasai road, Vadodara, Ratlam, Kota, Bayana, Mathura junction, Tughlakabad and Delhi.

(a) Expedite doubling of Panvel-Jasai-JN Port Section

(b) Implement automatic block signaling on the Panvel-Diva-Vasai Road-Dahanu Road-Vadodara and Vadodara-Mathura Junction Segments of the route.

(c) Find ways & means to facilitate expeditious passages of freight trains across Virar and Vadodara.

(d) Expedite the proposed quadrupling of the Palwal-Delhi section.

(ii) North Western Corridor from JNPT to Rewari via Vadodara-Ahmedabad, Sabarmati-

Palanpur, Marwar Jn. Jodhpur, Jaipur

(a) Expedite gauge conversion works (b) Following (i) above, undertake doubling of Mehasana-Palanpur, Ajmer-Jaipur and Rewari-Delhi sections, the latter two by converting the existing parallel MG Tracks to BG Tracks. (Planning Commission, 2006).

As we will discuss in the subsequent section, many of these works are at different level of implementation.

4. Mumbai Port

On the basis of traffic handled at Mumbai Port (BPT) in December 2007 it ranked fourth major Indian Ports when it handled 49.99 lakh tonnes. It was 6.43% higher than last Dec. Cargo traffic growth came on account of a robust 60.9% increase in transshipment and a small 5.64% rise in export. While import plunged by a sharp23% y-o-y to 19.52 lakh tonnes during Dec.07.The share of Mumbai Port in the total cargo handling by major Indian Ports stood at 11.03% during Dec.07, a shade lower than its year ago level.

During April – December 2007 Mumbai Port cloaked a decent 12.49% y-o-y in total cargo movement to 4.31 crore tonnes, consisting a 11.39 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. POL, coal, container and other liquid cargo drove growth in cumulative traffic. Out of this cumulative traffic, POL occupied a share of 65.35 % at 2.82 crore tonnes, up by 20.75 % y-o-y. One offshore Container Terminal Project with a capacity of 12 million tonnes costing Rs.1228 crore was under implementation for the development of Mumbai Port.

Traffic Handled at Mumbai Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	52364	18.50	11.29
2006(Apr-Dec)	38368	15.68	11.39
2007(Apr-Dec)	43162	12.49	11.39
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	4560	23.98	10.81
Feb 2007	3726	11.89	9.52
Mar 2007	5220	30.04	11.54
Apr 2007	4630	20.42	11.42
May 2007	4486	0.25	10.42
Jun 2007	4792	9.16	12.17
Jul 2007	4883	11.66	11.78
Aug 2007	4655	10.49	11.63
Sep 2007	4657	15.62	11.74
Oct 2007	5132	24.78	11.53
Nov 2007	4927	16.37	10.99
Dec 2007	4999	6.43	11.03

Major Commodity Traffic at Mumbai Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		34370	37074	-7.29
Iron Ore		---	---	---
Fertilizer	Finished	117	87	34.48
	Raw. Mat.	193	213	-9.38
Coal	Thermal	3265	2951	10.64
	Coking	---	---	---
Container	Tonnage	1291	1632	-20.89
	TEUs	92	118	-22.03
Other Cargo		12640	15071	-16.13
Grand Total		51876	57038	-9.05

Total traffic handled during the year ending 31.3.2005 was 52.36 million tonnes. The port is expected to handle traffic of around 75.20 million tonnes by the year 2013-14. Mumbai port railway system is connected to Indian Railways at Raoli Junction, Wadala for receiving and dispatching the traffic generated from and to hinterland. The expansion proposals for Mumbai Port include construction of two offshore container terminals having a capacity of 0.8 MTEUs, redevelopment of Harbour Wall Berths to handle larger and deep drafted general cargo vessels and a fifth oil berth. The port has plans to develop facilities for coastal ships. With a view to ensure smooth flow of traffic and to meet the future requirements, the Port has proposed the following for improving connectivity:

Wadala-Kurla Dedicated Freight Line 5.66 km. Laying of 5th and 6th additional line from Kalyan to Kurla is already under progress under MUTP being implemented by Mumbai Rail Vikas Nigam. Additional corridor from Kurla to Kalyan needs to be extended to Wadala. This would integrate port railway system with the Indian rail network and is critical for evacuation of port traffic to Central as well as Western Railway. RITES has conducted feasibility study in 2001 and found the project to be feasible. On the request of Mumbai Port, the Department of Shipping took up the matter with railway board. On the advice of Railway Board Mumbai port engaged Central Railways in Dec 2004 to carry out detailed engineering feasibility study.

Additional siding by Central Railway at Haji Bunder: For handling of coal at Haji Bunder for consumption of MSEB Power Plant at Nasik, the coal is transported through rail line facility located at a distance of 2 km from the berth. Moreover, length of this point is about 200 metres and full rake load cannot be serviced at a time thereby causing operational difficulties and multiple handling leading to increased cost of operation. To avoid this additional siding is required at Haji Bunder. Central Railway may activate the existing dormant line and provide siding facility.

Direct haulage of Central/Western Railway Locos up to the docks: At present, Central Railway Locos ply up to Wadala interchange yard from where the cargo is moved up to the docks by Mumbai Port locos. This change over causes delay of 6-8 hours for every operation. Therefore, it is necessary that Central Railway loco run right up to the docks. This track may be electrified for haulage of electric locos (Planning Commission, 2006).

5. Chennai Port

Traffic routed through the Chennai Port during December 2007 was 45.22 lakh tonnes, down by 7.90% y-o-y. This comprised 9.98 % share of the total traffic of the major ports of India. Chennai occupied fifth position after Kandla Visakhapatnam, JNPT and Mumbai in terms of traffic handled in December 2007.Exports were 19.73 lakh tonnes while imports totalled 25.49 lakh tonnes, both lower than respective year ago levels thus causing the total port traffic to decline y-o-y.

Cumulative commodity traffic through the Chennai port during April – December 2007 was 4.23 crore tonnes, consisting a 11.17 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. There was an increase of 10.15 % over the corresponding period of last year. Out of this cumulative traffic, container traffic occupied a share of 31.05 % at 1.31crore tonnes, up by 26.88 % y-o-y. POL comprised a share of 22.34%at 94.53 lakh tonnes while iron ore occupied a share of 18.92 %at 80.08 lakh tonnes

Traffic Handled at Chennai Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	53,414	13.05	11.52
2006(Apr-Dec)	39,728	13.94	11.80
2007(Apr-Dec)	42,317	6.52	11.17
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	4210	0.19	9.98
Feb 2007	4400	26.15	11.25
Mar 2007	5075	8.23	11.22
Apr 2007	4096	17.06	10.10
May 2007	4806	5.28	11.16
Jun 2007	4780	8.98	12.14
Jul 2007	5159	21.93	12.45
Aug 2007	4638	-1.36	11.59
Sep 2007	4743	2.13	11.96
Oct 2007	4987	15.39	11.21
Nov 2007	4586	2.64	10.23
Dec 2007	4322	-7.90	9.98

Major Commodity Traffic at Chennai Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		13112	12713	3.13
Iron Ore		8247	10782	-23.51
Fertilizer	Finished	500	585	-14.52
	Raw. Mat.	261	266	-1.87
Coal	Thermal	3020	1909	58.19
	Coking	1664	1838	-9.46
Container	Tonnage	20581	18050	14.02
	TEUs	1143	1128	1.32
Other Cargo		10106	11011	-8.21
Grand Total		57491	57154	0.59

Being an all weather port, Chennai Port handles diverse cargo mix of iron ore, coal fertilizers and containerized cargo, etc. The traffic throughput for the last 10 years shows an increase from 30.72 MT in 1995-96 to 53.41 MT in 2006-07. As per various forecasts based on the existing trends, total cargo input of Chennai port is projected to exceed 77.40 MTPA by 2013-14. The hinterland of Chennai Port is now shared with Ennore Port. If the existing facilities at Chennai Port are to be optimized, there is need for Chennai Port and Ennore Port to work in a coordinated manner to harness their combined strength. Cargo to/from Chennai Port is handled through rail (33%) road (40%) and pipeline (27%). Of the containerized cargo, only 7% is handled by rail and remaining 93% by road. With the projected increase in container cargo, it will be in the interest of the port to improve rail infrastructure so that more containers are moved.

Rail Connectivity

As the main category of cargo projected to increase significantly in the next decade will be containerized cargo, it is imperative to improve the share of rail in transporting containers from the present 7%, to take the load off from roads which at present transports 93% of containers. In this regard, the following projects are required to be undertaken to improve rail connectivity:

Mumbai-Chennai and Chennai- Bangalore Rail Corridor: Developing a new chord line linking the North/East (Chennai- Delhi/Kolkata) and South/West (Chennai- Mumbai) lines originating from Chennai would provide excellent connectivity to the Port and would help in increasing iron-ore exports through the Port. Cost of the Project is estimated to be Rs. 2000 crore. In addition, the Port has also proposed a dedicated corridor between Chennai and Bangalore at an estimated cost of Rs. 1000crore. These links would benefit both Chennai and Ennore Ports.

Rail link to Sathangadu: At present there is an existing rail siding at Sathangadu which was developed for SAIL and this can be extended to Royapuram station for providing a mainland route for transportation of containers. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 80 crore (Planning Commission, 2006).

6. Paradip Port

During December 2007 traffic handled by Paradip Port grew by 13.13 % to 39.03 lakh tonnes, occupying a 8.61 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. Growth in cargo routed through the port was largely due to a surge in traffic of coal, the largest commodity handled at Paradip port. While traffic of thermal coal went up by 25.48% to13.05 lakh tonnes on ay-o-y basis, shipment of coking coal grew by a higher 41.98% to 5.31 lakh tonnes. Traffic of iron ore, another major commodity handled at the port increased marginally by 0.94% over the year ago level to 10.72 lakh tonnes. Export through the port was 5.51 lakh tonnes while imports were 13.42 lakh tonnes, both higher than their respective year ago levels.

Cumulative commodity traffic through the Paradip port during April – December 2007 was 3.08 crore tonnes, consisting a 8.61 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. There was an increase of 10.15 % over the corresponding period of last year. Out of this cumulative traffic, coal occupied a share of 43.06 % at 1.32crore tonnes, up by 9.37 % y-o-y. Fertilizer raw material traffic increased by 26.61% over the year ago level to 25.93 lakh tonnes. Iron ore traffic handled at the port however grew by a mere 1.8 % over the year ago period to 88.95 lakh tonnes.

Traffic Handled at Paradip Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	38517	16.33	8.30
2006(Apr-Dec)	27925	14.11	8.29
2007(Apr-Dec)	30760	10.15	8.12
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	3721	29.70	8.82
Feb 2007	3748	43.66	9.58
Mar 2007	3123	-1.08	6.91
Apr 2007	3255	31.83	8.03
May 2007	3164	-0.97	7.35
Jun 2007	3217	-3.97	8.17
Jul 2007	3746	24.66	9.04
Aug 2007	3291	21.84	8.22
Sep 2007	3208	8.38	8.09
Oct 2007	3597	19.54	8.08
Nov 2007	3379	-10.77	7.54
Dec 2007	3903	13.13	8.61

Major Commodity Traffic at Paradip Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		3239	1764	83.61
Iron Ore		14272	12960	10.12
Fertilizer	Finished	173	135	28.14
	Raw. Mat.	3397	3420	-0.67
Coal	Thermal	14698	13348	10.11
	Coking	5464	4732	15.46
Container	Tonnage	31	54	-42.59
	TEUs	2	4	-50.
Other Cargo		5138	6025	-14.72
Grand Total		46412	42438	9.36

The following projects were under channel for the development of Paradip Port-

Name	Cost (Rs. Crore)	Status
Paradip (Jatadhari) Port Project	1000	Announced
Deep Draft Iron Ore Project (10 Million Tonnes)	505	Announced
Coking coal Berth	387	Announced
Harbour Deepening Project (4.30 metres)	235	Under Implementation
Clean Cargo Berth Project (12.50 metres draught)	70	Announced
Dry Dock Project	14	Under Implementation
Paradip Single Buoy Mooring Project		Under Implementation

Orissa is attracting huge investments particularly in the mineral sector. With the setting up of 36 steel plants, 3 aluminum plants and one refinery, the traffic requirement will increase manifold. The adjoining land locked states of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh are also attracting huge investments. Paradip is the only deep draft port to cater to traffic relating to the projects in Orissa and neighbouring states. As per projections of Paradip Port, the capacity requirement for handling iron ore at Paradip will be 24 million tonnes including the requirements of POSCO and ESSAR Steel. With 36 new steel plants coming up within 150 kms of the hinterland of the port, the coking coal capacity requirement will be 33 million tonnes. Taking into account requirement of power plants in South India, thermal coal requirement will increase to 20 million tonnes. The POL cargo at Paradip will be 9 million tonnes taking into account the SPM of IOC. To meet the increased demand of traffic, the existing rail connectivity of the port needs to be augmented.

Rail Connectivity

In Cuttack-Paradip Rail Link: Electrification of the 90 km Cuttack-Paradip is required. This line links the port with Howrah-Chennai main line at Cuttack and provides connectivity between the port and the iron ore and coalmines.

Mahanadi Bridge: Existing single Mahanadi Bridge, which links the port with the coalmines in the hinterland, is a bottleneck. A second bridge is required to meet the traffic demand. Railways have already taken up this project through RVNL.

Haridaspur-Paradip Rail Link: This 78 km line under construction will link the port with iron ore mines and steel plants as a dedicated corridor. It would shorten the distance between the port and the proposed steel plant. The estimated cost of the project is Rs. 441 crore and is to be executed by RVNL through an SPV comprising RVNL, PPT, Govt. of Orissa, Essar and others (Planning Commission, 2006).

7. Haldia Port

During December 2007 traffic handled by Haldia Port fell by 12.02 % to 32.57 lakh tonnes, occupying a 7.19 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. This was the steepest fall in the last 13 months. Export through the port was 9.42 lakh tonnes while imports were 23.15 lakh tonnes. POL at 13.85 lakh tonnes had been the dominant commodity carried through the port. It contributed 42.52 % of the total cargo in December 2007. However it fell by 10.47%, triggering the fall in the overall traffic growth. Among the other commodity slipped through Haldia in Dec.07, iron ore (5.96 lakh tonnes) and thermal coal (0.7 lakh tonnes) recorded y-o-y decline of 9.42% and 76.97 % respectively. Meanwhile coking coal movement was up by a robust 36.62% y-o-y growth to 5.67 lakh tonnes.

Cumulative commodity traffic through the Haldia port during April – December 2007 was 3.22 crore tonnes, consisting a 8.51 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. Out of this cumulative traffic, coal occupied a share of 40.45 % at 130.40 lakh tonnes, down by 2.20 % y-o-y. Iron ore shipped through the port was 70.25 lakh tonnes occupying a share of 21.79 %, higher by 12.36 % than its year ago level.

Traffic Handled at Haldia Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	42454	0.28	9.15
2006(Apr-Dec)	31466	1.21	9.34
2007(Apr-Dec)	32234	2.44	8.51
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	3605	-4.07	8.55
Feb 2007	3513	4.80	8.98
Mar 2007	3870	-3.61	8.56
Apr 2007	3397	-0.09	8.38
May 2007	3892	9.51	9.04
Jun 2007	3767	7.48	9.56
Jul 2007	3796	5.36	9.16
Aug 2007	3774	11.46	9.43
Sep 2007	3379	4.58	8.52
Oct 2007	3163	-8.56	7.11
Nov 2007	3809	5.05	8.50
Dec 2007	3257	-12.02	7.19

Major Commodity Traffic at Haldia (Dock Complex) Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		16872	17723	-4.80
Iron Ore		8720	9841	-11.39
Fertilizer	Finished	312	359	-13.09
	Raw. Mat.	229	353	-35.12
Coal	Thermal	1902	1797	5.84
	Coking	5930	5476	8.29
Container	Tonnage	2349	2397	-2.00
	TEUs	127	128	-0.78
Other Cargo		5309	5642	-5.90
Grand Total		41623	43588	-4.51

The following projects were under channel for the development of Haldia Port-

Name	Cost (Rs. Crore)	Status
Haldia Container Terminal Project	100	Announced
Haldia Captive Riverine Jetty Project	100	Announced
Haldia Multi-Purpose Barge Jetty Project	40	Under Implementation
Haldia Chemical Barge Jetty Project	40	Under Implementation

Railway Connectivity

The present rail borne traffic of HDC is around 14 MT and with this volume of traffic, this capacity is almost saturated. With the present rate of rail borne traffic, it is estimated that this would go up to 26 MT within five years. Doubling of the Haldia-Panskura Rail Line covering a distance of 58.1 km is necessary to cope with this projected increase in traffic. While Panskura-Rajgoda stretch (15.05 km) has already been completed, work on the remaining Rajgoda-Haldia stretch of 43.05 km at an estimated cost of Rs.237 crore, needs to be to be commenced and completed at the earliest (Planning Commission, 2006).

8. Mormugao Port

During December 2007 traffic handled by Mormugao Port fell by 1.31 % to 34.70 lakh tonnes, occupying a 6 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports.

Cumulative commodity traffic through the Mormugao port during April – December 2007 was 2.31 crore tonnes, consisting a 6.1 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. Out of this cumulative traffic, iron-ore occupied a share of 74.6 % at 1.73 crore tonnes. Coal traffic shipped through the port was 32 lakh tonnes occupying a share of 14 %.

Traffic Handled at Mormugao Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	34241	8.1	NA.
2006(Apr-Dec)	23178	10.0	NA.
2007(Apr-Dec)	23157	-0.1	6.1
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	3699	9.18	NA.
Feb 2007	3455	1.08	NA.
Mar 2007	3857	1.00	NA.
Apr 2007	3703	2.29	NA.
May 2007	3475	-5.11	NA.
Jun 2007	1614	-12.90	NA.
Jul 2007	1166	-27.98	NA.
Aug 2007	1047	-17.17	NA.
Sep 2007	1373	-2.00	NA.
Oct 2007	3115	8.65	NA.
Nov 2007	4180	23.82	NA.
Dec 2007	3470	-1.31	NA.

Major Commodity Traffic at Mormugao Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		898	874	2.74
Iron Ore		33809	27329	23.71
Fertilizer	Finished	182	192	-5.20
	Raw. Mat.	----	----	----
Coal	Thermal	449	357	25.77
	Coking	4107	3887	5.65
Container	Tonnage	147	135	8.88
	TEUs	14	14	0
Other Cargo		2089	2354	-11.25
Grand Total		41681	35128	18.65

Total traffic handled during the year ending 31.3.2007 was 34.24 million tonnes. The port is expected to handle traffic of around 44 million tonnes by the year 2013-14. The port is expected to handle traffic of around 44 million tonnes by the year 2013-14. The port has plans to construct a cruise vessel cum container berth at Baina. Beside the port also have plans for construction of a berth at Vasco Bay and modification of existing POL and General Cargo berth to handle iron ore. The traffic of the port is projected to go up to 44 MT by the year 2013-14. To ensure smooth flow of traffic and to meet the requirements of the increase in traffic, the port has suggested the following projects for improving the connectivity of the Port:

Rail Connectivity

90% of cargo handled at this Port is bulk cargo consisting of iron ore and coal. Almost entire coal traffic is moved by rail. The port is installing a Wagon Handling System for bringing iron ore from Bellary Hospet Region. To meet the demands of traffic to be generated in the coming years, following rail augmentation is required to be undertaken: -

(a) Creation of a proper Reception & Dispatch (R&D) yard capable of dealing with the anticipated traffic at Vasco Railway yard and remodeling of the present R&D Yard.

(b) Construction of a new railway line from Kulem to Gunji to doubling of track at Ghat Section at an estimated cost of Rs. 600 crore.

(c) Doubling of Londa - Dharwar route of 70 km at an approx. cost of Rs. 175 crore.

(d) Doubling of Hubli Gadaj route of 58 km at a cost of around Rs.145 cr. Phase-II.

(e) Doubling of balance sections line capacity which mainly includes doubling of Gadak - Hospet section line of 85 km at a cost of around Rs. 210 crore.

(f) Increase in train holding capacity in Vasco Hospet section by increasing the number of stations with adequate number of loop at a cost of around Rs. 230 crore.

9. New Mangalore Port

During December 2007 traffic handled by New Mangalore Port (NMPT) dropped by 8.26 % to 26.42 lakh tonnes, occupying a 5.83 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. Movement of POL products was significantly lower during the above month. Only 16.36 lakh tonnes was routed through the port in comparison to 20.97 lakh tonnes in Dec.2006.Fertilizer traffic was also down to 49000 tonnes during the month. However, the iron ore traffic was up by an impressive 57.58% (5.61 lakh tonnes).

However, the port’s performance during April – December 2007 was very impressive. At 2.69 crore tonnes the cumulative commodity traffic was up by 11.97 %. The port’s share in the national maritime traffic dropped marginally to 7.10%. While POL traffic came down to 1.63 crore tonnes, that of iron ore (69.23 lakh tonnes) and coal (12.65 lakh tonnes) went up substantially. The growth in coal was an outstanding 100.79%. Limestone and iron ore also marked more than 100% growth. The port handled 43.56 lakh tonnes of rail bound cargo, against 21.47 lakh tonnes of the same recorded during the same period in lat fiscal. Container traffic shipped through the port was 2.22 lakh tonnes%, higher by a 8.29 % than its year ago level There was drop in Cement Fertilizer raw material and Fertilizer finished.

Traffic Handled at New Mangalore Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	32042	-6.99	6.91
2006(Apr-Dec)	24036	-7.74	7.14
2007(Apr-Dec)	26912	11.97	7.10
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	2574	-11.24	6.10
Feb 2007	2444	-3.74	6.25
Mar 2007	2988	0.98	6.61
Apr 2007	2611	61.87	6.44
May 2007	3365	36.12	7.81
Jun 2007	2965	-4.94	7.53
Jul 2007	2785	-7.32	6.72
Aug 2007	3369	16.98	8.42
Sep 2007	2884	7.53	7.27
Oct 2007	3366	22.49	7.57
Nov 2007	2924	10.88	6.52
Dec 2007	2642	-8.26	5.83

Major Commodity Traffic at New Mangalore Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		21329	21782	-2.07
Iron Ore		9775	9264	5.51
Fertilizer	Finished	904	831	8.78
	Raw. Mat.	13	9	44.44
Coal	Thermal	---	---	---
	Coking	1929	1691	14.07
Container	Tonnage	404	320	26.25
	TEUs	286	21	1261.90
Other Cargo		2337	2122	10.13
Grand Total		36691	36019	1.87

The following projects were under channel for the development of New Mangalore Port-

Name	Cost (Rs. Crore)	Status
Mangalore Port Fishing Jetty Project	30	Announced
Old Mangalore Port 2nd stage Cargo Wharf Project	6	Announced

The traffic of NMPT is projected to increase to 43 MTPA by 2013-14 from the present level of 32.04 MPTA. Under the NMDP, the Port plans to construct an additional general

cargo berth, develop cruise lounge, develop LNG Bunkering facilities, LNG terminal, container terminal for transshipment, coal handling facilities for captive users, install SBM for POL and also develop some additional facilities. In order to cater to the increase in cargo in coming years, it is necessary to improve the existing rail connectivity of the port. Karnataka Government and MOR have proposed this new line, which would connect Konkan Railway at Ankola from Hubli in South Western Railway. This would provide alternative connectivity to the mines in Hospet Bellary Region (Planning Commission, 2006).

10. Tuticorin Port

During December 2007 traffic handled by Tuticorin Port grew by 16.92 % to 18.93 lakh tonnes, occupying a 4.18 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. Export through the port was 5.51 lakh tonnes while imports were 13.42 lakh tonnes, both higher than their respective year ago levels.

Cumulative commodity traffic through the Tuticorin port during April – December 2007 was 1.53 crore tonnes, consisting a 4.06 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. Out of this cumulative traffic, coal occupied a share of 28.58 % at 46.94 lakh tonnes, up by 5.09 % y-o-y. Container traffic shipped through the port was 40.70 lakh tonnes occupying a share of 26.47 %, higher by a robust 41.03 % than its year ago level.

Traffic Handled at Tuticorin Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	18001	5.03	3.88
2006(Apr-Dec)	13405	2.72	3.98
2007(Apr-Dec)	15375	14.70	4.06
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	1480	-0.34	3.51
Feb 2007	1352	8.94	3.46
Mar 2007	1765	30.07	3.90
Apr 2007	1349	14.71	3.33
May 2007	1778	26.82	4.13
Jun 2007	1504	2.04	3.82
Jul 2007	1835	19.08	4.43
Aug 2007	1744	9.96	4.36
Sep 2007	1822	22.94	4.59
Oct 2007	1566	5.81	3.52
Nov 2007	1885	4.49	4.21
Dec 2007	1893	16.92	4.18

Major Commodity Traffic at Tuticorin Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		502	460	9.13
Iron Ore		---	---	---
Fertilizer	Finished	1147	1098	4.46
	Raw. Mat.	677	632	7.12
Coal	Thermal	5880	6112	-3.79
	Coking	---	----	----
Container	Tonnage	5482	5630	-2.62
	TEUs	439	450	-2.44
Other Cargo		8323	7548	10.26
Grand Total		22011	21480	2.47

The following projects were under channel for the development of Tuticorin Port-

Name	Cost (Rs. Crore)	Status
Outer Harbour Development Project (22 Million Tonnes)	4350	Announced
Shipbuilding Yard Project	1400	Announced
Inner Harbour Development Project	835	Announced
Draft Deepening Project (12.80 Meters)	450	Announced
Container Terminal Project 1.50 lakh TEUs	150	Announced
Berth 8 Conversion Into Container Terminal Project	150	Announced

Port is connected by broad gauge (BG) rail link with major cities like Tirunelveli in the west, Nagercoil and Trivandrum in the south and Madurai, Trichi, Chennai and Bangalore in the north. Port is also linked to ICDs at Madurai, Tirupur, Karur, Salem, Coimbatore, Chennai and Bangalore.

The following projects are underway:

(a) Survey for doubling of Chennai-Tuticorin link

(b) BG conversion of Tirunelveli - Quilon MG line

(c) BG conversion of Tanjaur - Kumbakonam- Vilupuram stretch of MG track.

The traffic handled at Tuticorin is growing steadily. The traffic of the Port is expected to increase to 35.20MTPA by 2013-14 as against the present traffic of 15.81MTPA. The Port proposes to convert its 8th Berth into a Container terminal. It also has plans to construct a Coal Berth for NLC-TNEB, upgradation of the existing coal jetty, construct Berth No.9 and Shallow Berths. The port is also identified as one of the Ports for cruise shipping.

Rail Connectivity

To meet the future requirements arising from increase in traffic, the Port has proposed undertaking of the following projects for augmenting rail connectivity:

Madurai-Dindugul - Though the Port is well connected through BG rail link with major cities as well as with the ICDs at Madurai, Tirupur, Karur, Salem, Coimbatore, Chennai and Bangalore. However, one vital section requiring doubling is the track between Madurai and Dindugal for ensuring smooth movement of cargo to/from Port. Railways are finalizing the proposal for this project.

The existing single line from the port is adequate and provides direct connectivity to Karur, Erode and Tirupur. The port envisages additional railway sidings in the port area to cater to the container traffic and bulk cargo traffic (Planning Commission, 2006).

11. Kolkata Port

The cargo traffic at the Kolkata Port in the month of December 2007 staged a recovery and registered a growth of 9.52% y-o-y to 17.14 lakh tonnes, occupying a 3.78 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. Earlier the port has registered consecutive decline in the last two months, with a steep 26.29 % in November 07. Export through the port was 2.57 lakh tonnes registering a growth of 13.72 % while imports were 4.8 lakh tonnes marking a healthy 17.94% increase. POL, the major contributor fell marginally to 9.21 lakh tonnes. A healthy 19.31% rise in containerized cargo handled by the port helped to improved overall traffic growth.

Cumulative commodity traffic through the Kolkata port during April – December 2007 was 87.78 lakh tonnes, consisting a 2.32 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. Out of this cumulative traffic, Container occupied a share of 43.50 % at 38.18 lakh tonnes, up by 28.64% over the comparable period in 2006. Other goods shipped through the port was 18.07 lakh tonnes occupying a share of 20.59 %, higher by 23.85 % than its year ago level.

Traffic Handled at Kolkata Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	12596	16.56	2.72
2006(Apr-Dec)	8198	22.03	2.43
2007(Apr-Dec)	8777	7.06	2.32
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	1579	1.02	3.74
Feb 2007	1542	23.36	3.94
Mar 2007	1271	-0.31	2.81
Apr 2007	748	43.30	1.85
May 2007	820	51.85	1.90
Jun 2007	724	2.99	1.84
Jul 2007	861	44.95	2.08
Aug 2007	804	16.52	2.01
Sep 2007	766	7.74	1.93
Oct 2007	906	-8.58	2.04
Nov 2007	1388	-26.29	3.10
Dec 2007	1714	9.52	3.78

Major Commodity Traffic at Kolkata Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		20306	22246	-8.72
Iron Ore		9202	10166	-9.48
Fertilizer	Finished	312	359	-13.09
	Raw. Mat.	252	364	-30.76
Coal	Thermal	1902	1797	5.84
	Coking	5938	5476	8.43
Container	Tonnage	7825	7536	3.83
	TEUs	429	425	0.94
Other Cargo		8314	9385	-11.41
Grand Total		54051	57329	-5.72

The following projects were under channel for the development of Kolkata Port-

Name	Cost (Rs. Crore)	Status
Shipyard Project	280	Under Implementation
Port Modernization (Second Dock) Project (33.39 million units)	127	Announced
Hooghly River Dredging Regulatory Project (1 Meter)	351	Under Implementation
Shipyard Project	280	Under Implementation

Railway Connectivity

Sealdah-Budge Budge Branch Line of Eastern Railway connects Kolkata Port with the Railways track at Majherhat Junction. While Railway connections are available for serving three berths, however, railway tracks leading to all the berths except 1NSD require strengthening. The traffic of KDS is projected to increase to 16.60 MTPA by 2013-14 from the present level of 12.6 MPTA. The expansion proposals for Kolkata Port include development of a full-fledged cargo facility at Saugar, construction of two additional virtual jetties/mooring facilities at Saugar and transloading of dry bulk cargo and installation of a floating terminal for containers at Sandheads. With a view to ensure smooth flow of traffic and to meet the future requirements of the projected increase in traffic, the Port has proposed to construct cargo handling jetties at Diamond Harbour which is 70 km downstream from Kolkata. This would help handling of bigger vessels with heavier parcel load, as the draught there is deeper. Rail connectivity with the nearest railhead at Diamond Harbour Station on the Eastern Railway route would be necessary for handing of rail borne cargo to and from the proposed port facilities at Diamond Harbour. This work has to be undertaken by the Eastern Railway. Presuming that there would be movement of one rake per day, at the beginning, the estimated cost of this 1.50 km long stretch alongwith necessary siding facilities would be Rs. 30 crore (Planning Commission, 2006).

12. Cochin Port

During December 2007 traffic handled by Cochin Port grew by 28.27 % to 13.43 lakh tonnes, occupying a 2.96 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. This rise was sharpest in last 13 months. The performance was commendable given the fact that the traffic at the port fell by 15.02% in Dec.06. Export through the port was 3.72 lakh tonnes while imports were 9.71 lakh tonnes, both higher than their respective year ago levels. At 9.57 lakh tonnes POL accounted for the bulk of the cargo shipped through the Cochin Port, reporting a 45.66 % y-o-y growth. It contributed to 71.26% of the total cargo of Dec.07. Among the other traffic handled at the port, Container traffic went up by 11.54% y-o-y to 2.61 lakh tonnes. However, iron and steel movement witnessed a steep 88.89% y-o-y fall to 3000 tonnes during the month. Thermal coal and fertilizer witnessed healthy y-o-y growth in cargoes.

Cumulative commodity traffic through the Cochin port during April – December 2007 was 1.17crore tonnes, consisting a 3.10 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. Out of this cumulative traffic, POL occupied a share of 70.90 % at 83.25 lakh tonnes, up by 5.74 % y-o-y. Container traffic shipped through the port was 23.75 lakh tonnes occupying a share of 20.23 %, higher by a 13.80 % than its year ago level.

Traffic Handled at Cochin Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	15314	10.28	3.30
2006(Apr-Dec)	11395	12.64	3.38
2007(Apr-Dec)	11742	3.05	3.10
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	1351	11.19	3.20
Feb 2007	1072	-18.48	2.74
Mar 2007	1496	15.79	3.31
Apr 2007	1261	-0.55	3.11
May 2007	1325	0.15	3.08
Jun 2007	1303	3.91	3.31
Jul 2007	1318	5.86	3.18
Aug 2007	1336	1.98	3.34
Sep 2007	1350	-4.26	3.40
Oct 2007	1373	1.33	3.09
Nov 2007	1164	-2.92	2.60
Dec 2007	1343	28.27	2.96

Major Commodity Traffic at Cochin Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		10492	11300	-7.15
Iron Ore		27	---	100
Fertilizer	Finished	193	83	132.53
	Raw. Mat.	265	271	-2.21
Coal	Thermal	259	246	5.28
	Coking	----	----	----
Container	Tonnage	3256	3239	0.52
	TEUs	260	254	2.36
Other Cargo		736	671	9.68
Grand Total		15228	15810	-3.68

The following projects were under channel for the development of Cochin Port -

Name	Cost (Rs. Crore)	Status
Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal	93	Under Implementation
Cochin Ship Yard Project	55	Under Implementation
Boat Train Pier Jetty Examination Project	5	Announced

Cochin Port is a natural harbour located on the West Coast. The existing Port facilities are located on the Willingdon Island. Two bridges - one on the Ernakulam channel connects the Willingdon Island to the mainland and the other bridge on the Mattencherry Channel connects the Willingdon Island to Western Kochi. The bridge connecting the mainland and Willingdon Island is a road-cum- rail bridge. The port facilities are also connected to the Railway network through an 8 km rail line. The rail connection is also extended to the Ernakulam Wharf and the Mattencherry Wharf. Railways are in the process of replacing the existing railway bridge across the Ernakulam Channel, which connects Willingdon Island with the mainland.

As the port development on Willingdon Island has reached a saturation point, further development is being made at Vallarpadam where the port owns about 440 hectares of land. This island is located at the Northern side of the present road and it has about 600 acres of accreted land at the Puthuvypeen near the entrance of the Port. Future developments are planned in these areas as part of NMDP. The major development projects include setting up the International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) within the next four years, LNG regassification terminal, international bunkering terminal, international ship repair complex, crude oil handling for KRL, international cruise terminal and Port based SEZ. At present there is no rail or NH road connectivity available to Vallarpadam or Puthuvypeen areas. Moreover, even though there is a road link to the city centre of Ernakulam, it is neither suitable nor adequate to handle cargo related traffic. Therefore, to ensure smooth flow of port related traffic, which is projected to increase manifold once the above stated terminals become operational, it is important to undertake the following projects for providing rail connectivity to the Port. A techno-economic study for most feasible and acceptable rail alignment for providing connectivity to Vallarpadam has been conducted by RVNL (Planning Commission, 2006).

13. Ennore Port

This port primarily deal coal and iron ore. During December 2007 traffic routed through Ennore Port was 9.71 lakh tonnes, down by 10.42% y-o-y. The export through the port was 1.6 lakh tonnes while imports were 8.11 lakh tonnes.

Cumulative commodity traffic through the Ennore port during April – December 2007 was 85.99 lakh tonnes, consisting a 2.27 % share in the traffic of the major Indian Ports. Out of this cumulative traffic, coal occupied a share of 78.56 % at 67.55 lakh tonnes, up by 8.71 % y-o-y. Iron ore occupied a share of 18.85 % at 16.21 lakh tonnes, higher by a robust 31.26 % than its year ago level. POL routed through the port was 2.23 lakh tonnes, comprising a 2.59 % share in the cumulative commodity traffic.

Traffic Handled at Ennore Port

Period	Quantity (000 Tonnes)	% Change over Last Period	% Share in Major Ports in India
2006-07(Apr-Mar)	10714	16.86	2.31
2006(Apr-Dec)	7547	6.16	2.24
2007(Apr-Dec)	8599	13.94	2.27
Monthly Position
Jan 2007	1138	58.72	2.70
Feb 2007	927	40.03	2.37
Mar 2007	1090	60.06	2.41
Apr 2007	808	27.65	1.99
May 2007	1000	21.36	2.32
Jun 2007	1038	8.92	2.64
Jul 2007	885	22.24	2.14
Aug 2007	811	-5.81	2.03
Sep 2007	1193	55.54	3.01
Oct 2007	964	36.16	2.17
Nov 2007	930	-6.63	2.08
Dec 2007	971	-10.42	2.14

Major Commodity Traffic at Ennore Port: April to March 2008-09.

Commodity		Period		% Variation against 2007-08
		April, 08 – March,09	April,07 – March,08
P.O.L		366	319	14.73
Iron Ore		1111	2190	-49.26
Fertilizer	Finished	---	---	---
	Raw. Mat.	---	---	---
Coal	Thermal	9708	9051	7.25
	Coking	----	----	----
Container	Tonnage	----	----	----
	TEUs	----	---	----
Other Cargo		315	3	10400
Grand Total		11500	11563	-0.54

The Ennore Port is now in its second phase of development wherein it is proposed to develop new terminals for handling coal, iron ore, marine liquid, and LNG and container terminal. The capacity of the port is projected to increase from the present 10 MTPA to 39.5 MTPA by 2010-2011 and will go up to 62 MTPA by 2021- 2022. The estimated cargo projected to be handled through different modes is conveyor- 13 MTPA; pipeline-4 MTPA; rail-20.5 MTPA + 0.25 MTEUs; road – 2 MTPA + 0.75 MTEUs To meet the increased demand of traffic, the following projects are required for improving rail connectivity:

Rail connectivity to coal, iron ore and container terminals was required to be implemented in sync with development of respective terminals. The estimated cost of the project was Rs. 30 crore.

New Chord Line linking North -East (Chennai-Delhi/Kolkata) and South-West (Chennai-Mumbai) lines originating from Chennai would provide excellent connectivity to the Port and would help in increasing iron ore export through the port. This could be either through Puttur-Attipattu or Renigunta - Kalahasti-Tada. The estimated cost of the projects was about Rs. 270 crore.

Dedicated Freight Corridor between Chennai and Bangalore/Mumbai and Delhi/Kolkata is also required to be developed (Planning Commission, 2006).

Role of Railways

Thus the above detail gives us a relative idea about the performance of different ports. It also indicates the name of those ports where higher volume of trade is being handled. To evacuate on any port railways is considered to be most efficient as in this case by placement of single rake 4000 to 6000 tonnes goods get cleared in a single go. It also leads to lesser paper work, lesser handling with different people and quick and definite arrival at the destination. Hence, railways remain to be first preference among the importers –exporters. However, the railways face serious capacity constraint at most of the ports. Import – export traffic is handled as a part of general traffic and no separate priority is attached to this traffic. Consequently, there is always a long waiting list of demands, particularly in peak season (barring monsoon season) and there is shortage of supply of wagons as per demand. At some port availability of goods shed is also an issue. Some ports also face the problem of connectivity.

In fact most Indian Port faces significant capacity bottlenecks in terms of rail connectivity. To sort it out, the Indian Railways (IR) initiated ‘National Rail Vikas Yojana’ (NRVY) in 2002. The central idea was to provide a paradigm shift in the planning process of the railways. Instead of looking at projects in a piecemeal manner, the idea was to develop a program for addressing capacity constraints in the rail network. The NRVY consists of 18 projects. It has two basic components. The first is 1372 KM of port connectivity projects and the second comprises1605 KM of hinterland corridor development. The total project cost was estimated at Rs. 57.2 billion. The target for completion was March 2008. The implementing agency for the NRVY was the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), which was established as a 100% government owned company. This was an institutional arrangement to mobilize financial resources and develop and execute all projects under the Yojana. The aim was to undertake financially viable projects through PPP or other mechanisms in order to counter constraints in government funding. Four broad implementation models were being employed for these purpose- joint ventures, SPV, EPC contracts and the annuity model. Through SVP Hasan Mangalore line and Gandhidham Palanpur lines have already been completed (Jain, Ranjan Kumar 2005).

The first component of the NRVY aims to remove capacity constraints on the golden quadrilateral and its diagonal, which form 16% of the total rail network, and handles nearly 65% of the total freight traffic. This heavily used high-density network faces significant capacity constraints. This consists of 13-port connectivity projects-

1. Panvel – Jasai – JNPT
2. Gandhidham -Palanpur
3. Surat- Hazira
4. Improving connectivity to Haldia port
5. Gauge conversion of Arsikeri- Hasan Mangalore line
6. Gauge conversion of Salem Cuddalore line
7. Gauge conversion of Thanjavur – Vilupuram line
8. Gauge conversion of Bharuch Dahej line
9. In Orissa 60 km line connecting Bhadrak and Dharma to develop Dharma port.
10. To provide a small link line between the Gopalpur port and Chatarpur.
11. An additional line between Haridaspur and Paradip.
12. A small 8.5 km link line was constructed for connecting Vallarpadam port.
13. 115 km line for connecting Krishnapatanam Port.

The second major component of the NRVY is the strengthening of rail connectivity to existing ports and providing rail connectivity to new ports. It aims at improving the capacity of rail network right upto hinterland. This entails developing corridors to the hinterland. Here six corridors were identified. The Banspani- Datari new line in conjunction with the Haridaspur Paradip line will form a dedicated corridor for the movement of iron ore. The doubling of Hospet Guntakal line will provide increased capacity for carrying iron ore from the Bellary – Hospet sector. Three projects were developed as corridors to feed ports on the west coast –

• Ajmer- Phulera- Ringus- Rewari gauge conversion
• Delhi- Rewari gauge conversion
• Bhiladi Samdari gauge conversion

The last project, the Tughlaquabad- Dadri line would strengthen connectivity for the Dadri inland container depot. Thus multi-pronged approach has been adopted to address the connectivity issue (Jain, Ranjan Kumar 2005).

Port Traffic-Mission 300 MT

The railways budget of 2007-8 recognized the importance of port traffic and set a target to improve the carrying capacity by 300 MT in coming three years. It accepted that Indian Railways receives about 25% of the total traffic from various ports. It believed India’s foreign trade is likely to increase from 650 MT to 1100 MT by 2011-12. Thus, to capture those traffic Railways is giving top priority to port rail connectivity projects. By the end of December 2007 the gauge conversion work of Gandhidham-Palanpur has been completed through formation of a special purpose vehicle under Public- Private Partnership to meet the demand of Mundra and Kandla ports. The connectivity project for Pipavav port stands completed. The gauge conversion works of Bhildi-Samdari and Rewari- Ringus- Phulera are also in progress. The work of Kurla- Wadala rail link for Mumbai port has also been approved. Special purpose vehicles have been formed for Haridaspur- Paradeep new line, Krishnapatnam port connectivity new line and gauge conversion of Bharuch- Dahej and will be formed for Surat- Hazira and Pen- Revas port new lines on priority. Rail connectivity to the ports of Dhamra and Kirtaniya through private initiative is also under consideration. The gauge conversion work of Hassan-Mangalore serving Mangalore port has been completed and works of Valarpadam- Idapalli new line for Valarpadam inland container transhipment terminal is under progress. The proposal for connectivity to Dighi port is also under consideration. A new line between Attipattu and Puttur to serve the growing demand of Ennore port has been proposed and doubling of the Rajgoda-Haldia line would be undertaken in partnership with Haldia port.

Under the present scheme in IR, during the concession period of 30 years, the Special Purpose Vehicle is eligible for proportionate net income or a return of 14% on equity whichever is less. The cost of investment in the construction of the project is based on actual expenditure incurred. To prevent time and cost over runs and facilitate real price discovery in the budget of 2008-9, it has been decided that on a pilot basis implementation of some projects will be explored on BOT basis through open tenders. The beneficiaries of the new line will give traffic guarantees.

Container Business-Mission 100 MT

Since the majority of international trade is in containerized form the IR has also developed a plan to improve its share in this traffic. In the last three years (2004-5 and 2007-8), 15 operators have been given licenses for running container trains. Presently, 146 trains of Container Corporation and 44 container trains of other container operators are running. The number of trains run by other operators is expected to increase to 50-55 by the end of 2008. The total container traffic is expected to be 26 million tonnes in 2007-08 including 2 million tonnes contributed by new operators. Presently 60 container depots are operational including three constructed by private parties. It is expected by IR that eight container depots by Container Corporation and 40 by other operators would be developed in the coming years.

To meet the problem of capacity constraint in high-density network, which include coal, iron ore and port connecting lines, the rail budget of 2008 committed that an investment of about Rs. 75,000 crore would be made over the next seven years to augment line capacity on these routes. Route-wise works will be undertaken in a phased manner including 124 works of doubling, third and fourth lines, bye-passes, flyovers, crossing stations, inter-mediate block stations, automatic signaling works and yard re-modeling. This also includes construction of the Eastern and Western corridors. Detailed feasibility studies for the North-South, East-West, East-South and South-South Dedicated Freight Corridors are being carried out. Action would be taken to expedite sanction for construction of these corridors in 2008-09. Total104 throughput enhancement works in progress would be completed over the next two years. This entire network will be provided with inter-mediate block stations by March 2009. New guidelines have been issued for completion of throughput enhancement projects on a fast track basis. Sanction and implementation of these projects will be undertaken in much less time.

To sort out the issue of wagon shortage a large number of initiatives has been taken. While in 2003-04, 6,300 wagons were manufactured whereas in 2007- 08, 15,000 wagons are expected to be manufactured. In 2008-09, manufacture of 20,000 wagons is planned which would be the highest level of wagon productions so far. Similarly, in 2008-09, 250 diesel and 220 electric locomotives will be manufactured. With the objective of increasing the carrying capacity, from 2008-09 onwards manufacture of 20.3 tons axle load BCN and BOXN wagons will be stopped and only 22.9 tons axle load stainless steel wagons will be manufactured. The newly designed stainless steel BCN wagon has a lower tare weight. Due to the shorter length of these wagons, instead of 40 wagons, the BCN wagon train will now accommodate 58 wagons. Thus, the payload of the BCN trains will increase by 78% from 2300 tons to 4100 tons. Similarly the payload of open wagon trains will increase by 22%, to 4100 tons. Also, a new liberalized Wagon Investment Scheme has been prepared. Under this scheme, investments can be made for procurement or leasing of special purpose and high capacity wagons. Freight discounts at prescribed rates will be granted for investment in special purpose wagons and high capacity wagons. In order to develop the wagon leasing market, a new wagon leasing policy has been prepared under which, rail customers and container operators will be able to take wagons on lease. Thus it is expected that the IR would be in a position to meet the demand of the exporters- importers in future.

Realizing the importance of a strong port infrastructure in achieving robust economic growth, the Finance Minister upped the plan outlay for ports and lighthouses (including major ports, Dredging Corporation, minor ports and others) to Rs.2, 024 crore for 2008–09. This translated into an increase of 92.6 per cent compared to the revised estimates for 2007–08. However, when compared to the budget estimate of 2007–08, plan outlay for 2008–09 was up by a lesser 40.2 per cent. Of the total plan outlay of Rs.2, 024 crore for 2008–09, 85.6 per cent will be funded using Internal and Extra Budgetary Resource (IEBR). Major ports accounted for a huge 61.2 per cent of the total plan outlay for ports and lighthouses for 2008–09. It is expected that the higher allottment of fund will help in faster.

The Planning Commission has also accepted that the rapid growth in trade can be sustained only if the port infrastructure keeps pace with the increasing volumes of cargo. Road and rail connectivity forms an integral part of the port infrastructure as inefficient evacuation of cargo can mar the entire operation of a port. In particular, containerization of cargo presupposes a seamless link with the road and rail network in an ‘end to end’ transport system. Congestion seems to persist at several locations on account of delayed evacuation of cargo due to inadequate road and rail capacity. This undermines the competitiveness of Indian industry and hurts the economy at large, more particularly the hinterland that benefits from a robust growth in exports. Port connectivity,

At the end we may conclude that there are serious bottlenecks in almost all sphere of export import traffic. India has to perform much longer journey in shipping, port and railways to achieve a feature of competitiveness to make an optimal utilization of the industrial and agricultural capacity in the international trade. Until unless a sustained effort is made in these sectors for quite some period of time the above goal cannot be achieved. Hence, the policy planners, administrators and businessmen of the country have to act in a coordinated manner with a definite vision and strong determination to achieve the competitive edge of the country.

Bibliography

Agarwal, Amit 2007: Shipbuilding, SBICAP Securities, Mumbai

Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd (CMIE), 2008: Indian Industry A Monthly Review March 2008, Industry Analysis Service, Mumbai, Website: www.cmie.com

Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Pvt. Ltd (CMIE), 2008: Monthly Review of States of India, March 2008, State Analysis Service, Mumbai.

Cygnus, 2005: Indian Shipping Industry, Cygnus Business Consulting & Research, Hyderabad

Indian Shipping Industry 2007 Bharat Book Bureau available on http://www.bharatbook.com/detail.asp? id=40495

Jain, Ranjan Kumar 2005 ‘National Rail Vikas Yojana- Improving Connectivity in Indian Infrastructure, March 2005.

Ministry of Railways, 2006: Indian Railways –Opportunities and Challenges.

Ministry of Railway, 2007 Railways Budget: 2007-08. New Delhi

Ministry of Railway 2008 Railways Budget: 2008-09. New Delhi.

Pal, Vinod, 2003 - Indian Railways Transportation Management, Bahari Brothers, Delhi.

Planning Commission (2006). - ‘Report of the Committee of Secretaries: Road Rail Connectivity of Major Ports,’ The Secretariat for the Committee on Infrastructure, Planning Commission, Government of India, New Delhi.

PSI, 2004: Shipping Industry in India New York, USA

Sharma, Yogendra. (2008) – Public Private Partnership in Infrastructure, Vitasta Publishing Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi.

Sinha, Sanjay 2005: Opportunity for Major Ports- Impact of Global Trends in Indian Infrastructure March 2005.