BENGALURU: A new ‘Assured Transit Time’ domestic container train service connecting Bengaluru’s Whitefield with Tughlakabad in Delhi was flagged off on Saturday by Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti V Somanna, offering industries a scheduled and predictable rail freight option to transport goods to North India.
The scheduled service offers a total transit window of 166 hours, providing industries with a predictable and cost-effective logistics option. It is expected to help businesses improve inventory management, production planning and supply-chain efficiency, besides reducing uncertainty in the movement of goods.
The service, launched by Container Corporation of India Limited (CONCOR) in collaboration with Indian Railways, will operate from the Inland Container Depot (ICD), Whitefield, every Saturday. The train will travel via CONCOR’s ICD at Tondiarpet in Chennai before reaching Tughlakabad in Delhi, carrying domestic cargo in CONCOR-owned containers.
Speaking at the launch, Somanna said the assured transit service was first introduced last year between Tughlakabad and Shalimar and was being launched in South India for the first time with the Bengaluru-Delhi connection.
The service, he said, would provide greater predictability to industries and the manufacturing sector. The service is expected to benefit not only Bengaluru but also major industrial and manufacturing clusters in the surrounding region, including Hoskote, Whitefield, Malur, Tumakuru, Bommasandra, Electronic City, Jigani, Anekal, Attibele, Dabaspet, Devanahalli, Peenya, Nelamangala, Hirehalli, Kunigal, Antarasanahalli and Vasantha Narasapur.