Freight services under 'Gati Shakti' could give Railways revenue of Rs 30,000 crore per year

Indian Railways expects incremental revenue of at least Rs 30,000 crore per annum from freight services when 300 Gati Shakti cargo terminals become operational, the national transporter said on Thursday.

At least 65 entities have expressed interest in building cargo terminals, Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told media persons in the national capital. Private entities had been asking for a 35-year renewable licence for cargo terminals on railway land, he said.

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved a policy for long-term leasing of railway land for the PM Gati Shakti programme, which the government said will help set up 300 cargo terminals and generate 1.25 lakh jobs.

The new policy will help provide land leases for a longer period of up to 35 years, as against the five years at present, Vaishnaw said.

To this effect, the Union Cabinet also lowered the railway land licence fee from 6 per cent to 1.5 per cent and raised the lease period from five years to 35 years.

The railway minister explained that increasing the licensing period will attract more investments toward setting up cargo terminals.

He said all existing terminals, including Concor (Container Corporation of India) and other PSUs, already had a 30-year-lease policy. “We are not changing terms and conditions for any existing cargo terminals, including those operated by PSUs,” the minister said.

According to him, the focus should be on multi-modal development of cargo terminals. “The government wants to give a level playing field to all. New entrants and existing ones will have to enter through competitive bidding processes,” he said.