Railways' renewed focus on automobile loading set to yield positive results

Automobile loading is getting a renewed push as the Indian Railways looks to achieve a modal share of 20 percent by the end of 2021-22, and a modal share of 30 percent by 2023-24.

The national transporter has also announced a slew of measures to augment its initiatives like setting up seven new terminals for automobile loading.

Abhilesh Babel, CEO, Infra Advisory, Feedback Infra, feels it makes sense for both the Tamil Nadu and NCR auto manufacturers to use Railways as it is much cheaper than road.

"Originally, this was started by Hyundai Motors when they were sending cars to north India. Today, Maruti Suzuki also transports a significant amount of volume via rail and coastal shipping. This shift is secular and is bound to continue over the next few years. Auto companies have been working with Railways in designing of auto rakes and ensuring seamless transportation. Once the upcoming Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) comes up, the volume will increase even further as DFC allows for time-tabled rake movements," he told Moneycontrol.

Apart from Maruti and Hyundai, other carmakers like Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Kia are also using the services of Railways.

In a tweet posted last month, Anand Mahindra acknowledged the efforts of the Indian Railways for transporting its Bolero pick-up vans from Navi Mumbai to Benapole in Bangladesh.

Railways operates two types of rakes — small rakes, which can carry 100-125 cars and big rakes, which can carry 275 to 318 cars.