COIMBATORE: The rail siding commissioned at the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Irugur on Tuesday is expected to handle monthly 1,500 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in a year, according to Container Corporation of India's (CONCOR) Director for International Marketing and Operations Yash Vardhan.

He told The Hindu here on Tuesday that two main facilities were inaugurated at the ICD - the rail siding and a warehouse. The ICD was located on 42 acres and in terms of area, this had the capacity to handle about 8,000 to 10,000 TEUs a month.

Currently, the Irugur ICD was handling 400 to 500 TEUs a month. The first container rail service commissioned on Tuesday from the ICD was to the Kochi Port with 62 TEUs. The volume would go up in the future when mainline vessels start calling at Vallarpadam port and when customers were aware of the benefits of the rail service connecting the containers to the vessel. This facility would also bring down the cost of transport, he said. The service would be increased to two to three services a week in a year-and-a-half. Domestic cargo such as cotton could also be transported from other States to Coimbatore region through this facility.

Mr. Vardhan said the ICD already had a 20,000 sq.ft. warehouse and another 30,000 sq.ft. warehouse was inaugurated on Tuesday.

The additional facilities were created at a total cost of Rs. 15 crore - excluding the land cost. The handling equipment available at the ICD now was sufficient and it would be upgraded as the volume went up.

Speaking at the inaugural he said that for any ICD to be successful, it was essential to be well-connected. When the traffic improved, CONCOR would run more trains to Kochi and other ports, he said.

Southern Railway's Chief Operations Manager Ajit Kumar Patnaik urged the trade and industry of this region to make best use of the new facility.

C. Rajendran, Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax, Coimbatore, said this facility improved the infrastructure of Coimbatore. With the efficient movement of goods, costs would come down. In all the customs locations in Coimbatore, automation was being implemented in phases.

V. Kalyana Rama, Chief General Manager, Southern Region of CONCOR welcomed the gathering.

Courtesy - Hindu