Gateway Rail Freight Pvt. Ltd, a subsidiary of Gateway Distriparks, has entered an agreement with CONCOR to set up a joint venture company to construct and operate a rail linked double-stack container terminal at Garhi Harsaru near Gurgaon in Haryana. This terminal will ensure connectivity of NCR to the western ports. Gateway Rail and CONCOR will have shareholding in the ratio of 51:49 respectively in the JVC.
Gateway Distriparks has an operational rail-linked ICD at this location. The operation of the ICD will be taken over by the JVC. At present CONCOR provides rail connectivity to the ICD. The rail operations will be taken up jointly by Gateway Rail and CONCOR. Gateway Rail has already placed order for two rakes, one of which is expected to be delivered within two weeks.
The joint effort is aimed at consolidating cargo volumes of north India for double-stack container train operation on the diesel route from NCR to JN Port, Mundra and Pipavav. The terminal will have connectivity to the proposed Western Dedicated Freight Corridor as well. It will also have connectivity to the proposed Kundali-Manesar-Palwal Expressway. This location has an advantage of direct connectivity to industries in Kundali, Sonepat, Faridabad areas eliminating the need for border-crossing which will fulfill a long standing requirement of Delhi Administration for decongesting Delhi roads of container trailers.
The terminal will be spread over an area of about 100 acres and will have a rail handling and transshipment terminal, an ICD, multiple CFS, warehouse complex and a Domestic Cargo Hub. The terminal will cater to the industrial areas of Delhi, Bijwasan, Gurgaon, Manesar, Dharuhera, Bawal, Hissar, Sonepat, Panipat in Haryana and Bhiwadi, Neemrana and Behror in Rajasthan. The terminal will also facilitate the export-import traffic from the proposed Haryana SEZ.
The terminal will provide services of international standard in handling, transshipment and storage of containers and warehousing, value-addition, distribution and containerization of cargo. It will also have a large warehousing complex for both bonded and transit cargo with separate facilities for cold storage, reefer containers and for domestic cargo. It will also be developed as a hub for rail transport of cars (CBU) and two-wheelers between north India and western, central, eastern and southern Indian locations. This JVC will open a new era in inter-modal logistics in NCR.