Free Land Offered To Develop Multimodal Freight Hubs

INDIA – There may be no such thing as a free lunch but according to the country’s East Central Railway their latest offer is the closest thing. The Railway Board is to offer land free of charge to interested parties in an attempt to revitalise shipping links throughout the region. The current facilities cannot cope with the volumes of freight which pass through the area.

There are two types of site available both green and brown field sites, the latter bearing old and dilapidated railside facilities. The scheme however is not entirely without cost. Interested parties must undertake to develop viable intermodal logistics terminals on sites with three adjacent lines after depositing around £150,000 (€184,000), refundable if the applicants plans are rejected.

Following a successful development the authorities would claim half the income from the site, after five years in the case of green field projects, two years for brown field. The scheme is planned to prevent the extreme delays which some rail clients complain have become the norm.

Photo courtesy of East Central Railways.