WDFC would help in significant reduction of trains transit time: Gateway Rail Freight

Gateway Rail Freight, the logistics arm of Gateway Distriparks, on Thursday said that commissioning of the new section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor would help in a “significant” reduction in its trains transit time.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the 306-km New Rewari-New Madar section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) to the nation.

Through video-conferencing, Modi also flagged off the world”s first double-stack long-haul 1.5-km-long container train hauled by electric traction from New Ateli in Haryana to New Kishangarh in Rajasthan.

According to a release, this is the world”s first double-stack train to be operated by electric locomotives.

GatewayRail”s train from ICD Garhi Harsaru to Mundra Port was one of the two trains flagged by Modi on the new section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, the release said.

“We are extremely proud to be one of the first Intermodal operators to run its train on the newly inaugurated section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.

“The transit time of our trains will reduce significantly and we will be able to provide an even more reliable service to our customers through our North India ICDs at Garhi Harsaru, Faridabad, and Ludhiana,” Sachin Bhanushali, Director and CEO at Gateway Rail Freight Ltd said.

Gateway Rail Freight”s intermodal hub at Garhi Harsaru, Gurugram in NCR, is now connected to the Corridor, he said.

The company operates a fleet of 31 container trains sets, providing daily container train services from these ICD to ports terminals at Nhava Sheva, Mundra, and Pipavav ports for EXIM and domestic containers.

The parent company Gateway Distriparks Ltd (GDL) operates six Container Freight Stations with two at Nhava Seva and one in Chennai, Krishnapatanam, and Kochi and Visakhapatnam.

“We are ready to harness the tremendous opportunity that is now available with commissioning of this section of the DFC. The ultimate benefit of this infrastructure dedicated to rail transportation of cargo will help industries in North India and will help Indian manufacturing industry in NCR to be internationally competitive.” said Prem Kishan Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of Gateway Distriparks Ltd and Gateway Rail Freight Ltd.

The opening of this section will benefit industries in Gurugram, Manesar, Rewari, Neemrana industrial areas of Haryana and Rajasthan, the company said.

It would also connect various multi-modal logistics hubs, including GatewayRail”s terminal at Garhi Harsaru (Gurugram Haryana) to the DFC, providing a quantum boost to the freight and logistics of the entire Northern India region.

“We have created the necessary infrastructure at this terminal to operate regular services on the DFC for Mundra and Pipavav Ports from our container terminal.

“We will also be operating our train services for Nhava Sheva port on the DFC through our Gujrat hub at Viramgam near Ahmedabad,” Bhanushali added.