Vision 2020 - Transportation Research Group of India

Government of India
Ministry of Railways
(Railway Board)
by 15.2% in 2007-08 over 2006-07, the total container business grew by 23.4% during the same period. The
difference is explained by the additional traffic brought in by the private players. These growth rates, however,
mask the true potential of the market which is limited at present by constraints at ports, inland container depots
and to some extent, carrying capacity of the Railways. These constraints are now being addressed by the
respective agencies. Container Train Operators are bringing in their own rolling stock and also adding to terminal
capacity. Increased competition among the container operators will not only expand the market served by the
Railways, but also improve service levels.
In addition to maritime container traffic, containerized movement of domestic traffic is also emerging as a traffic
stream of considerable promise. It is expected that the level of containerization would rise from 45% to about 70%
in 2020. Containerization of various products presently moving piecemeal and mostly by road could facilitate
aggregation and thus make it amenable to rail movement. Container Train Operating companies are already
engaged in tapping this market. It is expected that the market will grow as adequate terminal capacities are built,
bottlenecks on congested routes are removed and transit times improved. An annual growth of 20% in container
tonnage appears to be a reasonable assumption.
Container traffic, therefore, is expected to touch 210 million tonnes by 2020.
4.1.9 Others
Apart from the traditional segments where Railway already have a dominant presence, several other
opportunities will unfold in respect of commodities such as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), fly-ash and
automobiles. However, in order to tap these opportunities and build them into new growth platforms, Railways
would have to forge partnerships with logistics providers and develop industry- friendly special-purpose rolling
stock and transportation services. A total of 100 MT of other traffic is anticipated by 2020.
4.1.10 In summary, the above analysis adds up to the following level of freight traffic by 2020
Table-8: Summary of projected freight loading by IR by 2020
S.No. Commodity Originating loading (Million tonnage)
1. Coal 700
2. Raw Material for Steel Plants 39
3 Pig Iron & Finished Steel 108
4 Cement 250
5 Iron Ore (Exports) 75
6 Iron Ore (Domestic) 150
7 Food grains 50
8 Fertilizers 70
9 POL 48
10. Containers 210
11. Others 150
12. Total 1850
(1203 billion NTKMs)
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