In a first, Railways takes the DFC route to transport four-wheelers

The railways, which has been aiming to be the preferred transporter for finished goods, will for the first time ferry cars using dedicated freight corridors (DFC).

On July 10, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCC) received an order for 25 new modified goods (NMG) wagons to transport 75-80 four-wheelers from Haryana to southern areas such as Chennai and Bengaluru, an official said.

The order, to be executed on the western DFC, will earn the freight corporation Rs 10-12 lakh. This is the first time that DFCC will fulfil a four-wheeler delivery as the primary agency.

Even though DFCs have been opening up in parts, most of the transportation of non-core freight items still happens on tracks belonging to the Indian Railways. Since the order was placed, the freight corridor arm of the railways has started procuring automobile loading ramps and is planning to develop more goods sheds to cater to industry-specific needs of the sector as it expects more traffic. 

However, due to a lack of a dedicated route between northern and southern India, the firm will use the western DFC from Rewari up to Mehsana or Palanpur in Gujarat, from where the consignment will be handed over to the Indian Railways for the rest of the journey. Due to higher train speeds on the freight corridor, the detour from the north to west to south is unlikely to have a negative impact on the time of delivery.

ON TRACK

• Western dedicated freight corridor to transport 25 wagons of four-wheelers for the first time
• Expected revenue to be around Rs 10-12 lakh
• Railways developing supporting infrastructure anticipating more traffic
• Push to make DFCs the preferred route for transporting finished goods as raw materials dominate current freight basket
• Railways has a long-term aim of gaining over 40% share in national logistics

DFCC sees this as a chance to become the preferred transporter for automobiles. Most four-wheelers are transported by road, which is more expensive and polluting than rail. With the rising cost of logistics and expectations of climate action from companies, auto firms have been considering shifting their transportation networks to railways.

“The successful delivery of this order will increase supplier confidence in terms of timeliness and cost reduction. Once both the eastern and western DFCs have been completed, we will have an unbroken dedicated supply chain only for freight, where our key metrics will be even better. We have serious plans to tap into the market for transporting both new and used cars,” the official quoted above said.

While the eastern DFC is likely to be completed by June 2023, recurring issues in Maharashtra are likely to push the date for the western corridor to March 2024, or even beyond that.

In 2021-22, the railways had increased its automobile freight by a third under its “Hungry for Cargo Mission”, through which it aims to bring finished goods into its freight basket. Currently, the railways is seen as a capable supplier of only raw material, with coal and iron ore accounting for almost two-thirds of its freight volumes.

NMG rakes can go up to speeds of 110 kilometres per hour (kmph), though rakes in India have dismal average speeds of 20-25 kmph. This fiscal year, the national transporter has struggled to touch even 20 kmph, despite passenger train services being cancelled for moving coal in May.

According to experts and officials, DFCs will be a game changer on this front, delivering an average speed of more than 60 kmph.