GatewayRail is proud to be associated with inauguration of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi

by Suman Gupta

Mumbai, January 8, 2021: GatewayRail Freight Ltd is proud to be one of the first operators on the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi by video conferencing today. The prime minister flagged off the inaugural double stack formation of two trains with a total length of 1.5 km from New Ateli Junction. GatewayRail’s train from ICD Garhi Harsaru to Mundra Port was one of the two trains in this formation. This is the world’s first double stack train to be operated by electric locomotives. The freight trains will run at a speed of up to 100 KMPH on this newly inaugurated Rewari – Madar section of the western dedicated freight corridor.

This freight corridor will be used for exclusive operation of freight trains. The opening of this section will benefit industries in Gurugram, Manesar, Rewari, Neemrana industrial areas of Haryana and Rajasthan. This will also connect various Multi Modal Logistics hubs including GatewayRail’s terminal at Garhi Harsaru (Gurugram Haryana) to the Dedicated Freight Corridor providing a quantum boost to the freight and logistics of the entire Northern India region.

On this special occasion, Mr Sachin Bhanushali, Director & CEO at Gateway Rail Freight Ltd said, “We are extremely proud to be one of the first Intermodal Operators to run its train on the newly inaugurated section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. The transit time of our trains will reduce significantly and we will be able to provide an even more reliable service to our customers through our North India ICDs at Garhi Harsaru, Faridabad and Ludhiana. Our Intermodal Hub at Garhi Harsaru, Gurugram in NCR is now connected to the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor. We have created the necessary infrastructure at this terminal to operate regular services on the DFC for Mundra and Pipavav Ports from our container terminal. We will also be operating our train services for Nhava Sheva port on the DFC through our Gujrat hub at Viramgam near Ahmedabad.”

Mr Prem Kishan Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of Gateway Distriparks Ltd and Gateway Rail Freight Ltd said “It is a momentous day for the logistics sector of India and for GatewayRail in particular. We are in readiness to harness the tremendous opportunity that is now available with commissioning of this section of the DFC. The ultimate benefit of this infrastructure dedicated to rail transportation of cargo will help industries in North India and will help Indian manufacturing industry in NCR to be internationally competitive.”

About GatewayRail:GatewayRail (a subsidiary of Gateway Distriparks Ltd) is India’s leading Private Intermodal Operator which operates four rail-linked Inland Container Depots at Garhi Harsaru, Faridabad, Ludhiana and Viramgam and a Domestic Container Terminal in Navi Mumbai with an overall annual handling capacity of over 6,00,000 TEU and warehousing space of over 40,000 SQM. The company operates a fleet of 31 container trains sets and providing daily container train services from these ICD to ports terminals at Nhava Sheva, Mundra and Pipavav ports for EXIM and Domestic containers. The parent company Gateway Distriparks Ltd (GDL) operates six Container Freight Stations at Nhava Sheva (2), Chennai, Krishnapatanam, Kochi and Visakhapatnam.