The Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) and Container Corporation of India Ltd.(CONCOR) will enter into a memorandum of understandings(MoU) to set up a multi modal logistics park (MMLP) at Balli railway station in south Goa.
CONCOR will invest Rs. 30 crore while KRCL will make available vacant land at Balli for the project for nominal fees, on a revenue sharing basis.
Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu declared this after laying a foundation stone for the MMLP project at Balli. The Minister also inaugurated Coach Intermediate Overhauling Depot at Madgaon, Sawantwadi Terminal (PHASE-I), and commissioned a Hand Held Ticketing Device(HHTD) for issuing platform tickets and ticket checking receipts, as well as upgraded a mango pack house at Jamsande, Devgad, all through remote control in a function held at Madgaon in south Goa on Sunday.
The MMLP facility will be initially spread over 94,000 square meters with a scope for expansion as the traffic may grow in future. This logistics park will be able to handle both domestic and export-import container traffic. In addition to container traffic, commodities transported by both open and covered wagons can also be handled from here.
A spokesperson of KRCL said that 5000 square meters of Custom Bonded Warehousing space is being created in the first phase and a host of value-added services like stuffing, repackaging, etc., will be available to its users.
Both, trade and industry in Goa will greatly benefit from the economic transport solutions the state-of-the-art facilities that CONCOR will provide in partnership with KRCL.
In the first year of operations itself, the facility could handle 15 rakes per month.
A coach care centre (CCC), Madgaon is a major coaching depot of KRCL, having total coach holding of 178 coaches which are being sent to carriage workshop, Hubli, South Western Railway for periodical overhauling (POH) once in 18 months.
At present, IOH coaches are required to be moved from Madgaon to Verna. With the commissioning of this intermediate overhauling depot at Madgaon, the timely placement and attention to the coaches can be undertaken efficiently, thereby improving the safety, amenities and comfort to passengers. The IOH shed will cost around Rs. 3 crore.
Sawantwadi Terminal in Konkan region of Maharashtra
The work of new platform with shed, new FOB, terminus line and one stabling line was completed with a total cost of Rs. 11.42 crore. The trains originating from Sawantwadi will be starting from this new terminus line. The terminal platform has been provided with tea stall, water posts, announcement system and CCTV surveillance.
Subsequently, the construction of Phase–II is also in progress comprising of construction of washable apron, train watering arrangement, terminal building and approach road. This will be completed at a total cost of another Rs. 9.05 crore.
Hand Held Ticketing Device for TTEs
A HHTD for TTEs will facilitate extension of tickets, upgradation of class of journey, fare change difference, issuing excess fare ticket (EFT) for untraveled journey or non-functioning AC, for allotting lower class certificate, issuing higher class travel penalty / without ticket penalty / penalties for spitting, smoking, alcohol drinking, issuing platform tickets as also regular UTS (mobile ticketing application) and Roll On–Roll Off ticketing.
Mango Pack House at Jamsandh at Jamsande, Devgad is being upgraded so that the consignment can be exported and supplied to various parts of the country in a proper packing without causing any damage to the fruit, said the spokesperson.
