Logistics company Arshiya International’s plans to expand its rail terminal business have hit a road block.
The company has been bidding for developing unused rail sidings in the country but the project is stuck for the want of government clearances.
“We have identified 15 sites in regions including Orissa, Maharashtra, Gujarat and NCR. These sites already have rail sidings either belonging to Container Warehousing Corporation or other private players.
However, they have been lying unused as the companies have either shut operations or are no longer using them,” said Ajay Mittal, chairman and managing director, Arshiya International.
Rail siding are short rail networks linked to factories, which are used to transport raw material and inventory.
All Arshiya needs to do is to buy or lease land from the party owning the sidings and develop them for further use.
While Mittal said that the process is still on, sources said the plan is stuck because these sidings have not been given Container Rail Terminal (CRT) declaration by the government.
“The process has come to halt as we still need a CRT declaration for any kind of work to begin. And this declaration can only be provided by the rail ministry, which does not seem to
be keen on it,” said the source.
The source said in absence of CRT, the company is forced to use the rail sidings which are under the Indian Rail or Container
Corporation (Concor).
“We cannot start our operations and are forced to use the government’s sidings, leading us to spend more time and resources on it,” the source said.
The logistics company is planning to build rail terminals across the country especially connecting five free trade warehousing zones which it is building.
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