JAMMU: Rahul Sahai, Chairman, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Jammu Chapter participated in the Business Development Unit (BDU) Interaction Meeting organised by Northern Railway, Jammu Division, at the Divisional Railway Office, Jammu Tawi.
During the meeting, ICC Jammu suggested daytime scheduling of freight rakes, increase in rake unloading time to 24 hours, waiver of demurrage charges, development of goods sheds in industrial areas, and early operationalisation of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) Samba.
The meeting was chaired by Vivek Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager, Northern Railway, Jammu Division. Other dignitaries present on the dais included Uchit Singhal, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager and Arish Bansal, Senior Divisional Operations Manager.
During the interaction, Rahul Sahai, Chairman, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Jammu Chapter, submitted a detailed representation on behalf of ICC Jammu highlighting several important issues concerning freight movement, logistics infrastructure, and ease of doing business in Jammu & Kashmir.
Rahul Sahai emphasized that efficient rail connectivity and improved freight infrastructure are crucial for the economic growth of the region, particularly for industries, MSMEs, traders, and agriculture-based sectors.
Rahul Sahai urged Northern Railway to strengthen freight terminals, warehousing facilities, container handling systems, and loading/unloading infrastructure in Jammu and adjoining industrial areas. He specifically requested that rake arrival timings should preferably be during daytime due to labour availability constraints and appealed for enhancement of rake unloading time from seven hours to 24 hours. He also requested waiver of demurrage charges in cases where unloading is delayed due to operational challenges.
He further stressed the need for development of goods sheds at Bari Brahmana, Samba, and Jammu and called for early operationalisation of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Samba. He also highlighted the importance of better wagon availability, multi-modal logistics facilities, rational freight charges, digitalisation of railway freight systems, improved last-mile connectivity, and train stoppage at Anantnag station to support MSMEs and local businesses.
During the meeting, Northern Railway officials gave a detailed presentation on various freight and logistics services being offered by Indian Railways, including Roll-On Roll-Off (RO-RO) services, parcel transshipment facilities, specialised freight wagons, reefer containers, automobile carriers, tank wagons, and parcel cargo services.
The presentation highlighted the benefits of RO-RO services such as reduced transportation cost, lower fuel consumption, reduced road congestion, enhanced safety, environmental sustainability, timely delivery, and reduced wear and tear of vehicles.
Railway officials also emphasized the importance of multi-modal logistics integration and informed participants about specialised wagons available for carrying bagged material, steel, iron, liquid cargo, food grains, automobiles, and industrial goods.
The interaction witnessed participation from freight customers, consignors, consignees, logistics operators, and representatives from trade and industry. Among those present were Ashish Jain and Raj Dua from ICC Jammu, Rakesh, besides representatives from Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Adani Cement and other leading industrial and logistics organisations.
Rahul Sahai, Chairman, Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Jammu Chapter, appreciated Northern Railway for organising the stakeholder interaction and expressed confidence that regular dialogue between Railways and industry stakeholders would significantly strengthen trade, logistics, and industrial growth in Jammu & Kashmir.
He also appreciated the efforts of Indian Railways in promoting greener and cost-effective logistics solutions through rail-based freight movement and assured full cooperation from ICC Jammu Chapter in all initiatives aimed at improving freight and logistics infrastructure in the region.
