Southern Railway announces contract for operation of multi-modal cargo terminal at Arakkonam

CHENNAI: Southern Railway on Thursday announced that a contract for development and operation of a state-of-the-art multi-modal cargo terminal at Arakkonam with an investment of around 40-50 crores had been awarded for a contractual agreement span of 35 years.

A press release from Southern Railway said under the vision of Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal Policy – 2022, Chennai division of southern Railway has awarded M/s JSW Infrastructure Ltd the contract.

The terminal would be established on a railway land area of one lakh sq.m (approx) adjacent to Arakkonam Railway Station, the facility aims at transforming the logistics infrastructure of the region with facilities including two full rake length lines, adequate wharf areas for efficient goods handling, approach roads with highway connectivity, service buildings for the terminal and other requisite amenities for a fully developed multi-modal cargo terminal.

Under this initiative, Arakkonam is expected to attract an additional one million ton of goods handled annually at this terminal.

It is expected to generate local employment in large numbers and offer an economic boost to the Ranipet, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and neighbouring districts.

The licensee has been offered exclusive rights to build additional infrastructure like the construction of warehouses, mechanized loading and unloading facilities, specialized goods handling facilities and provision of offering value-added services to all users of the Arakkonam Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal.

This project will generate significant revenue to Railways as the licensee will pay a license fee for the land being offered to them for development and in addition will pay the bid amount as access charges for each rake handled at the terminal, the release added.