RRB Practice 19

Port connectivity is a critical element of India's trade logistics infrastructure, as the country's major ports handle hundreds of millions of tonnes of cargo annually and depend on efficient rail links to move cargo rapidly between the port terminals and inland origins and destinations. The Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, which connects Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Nhava Sheva near Mumbai to Dadri near Delhi, is the most significant infrastructure investment in port rail connectivity in recent Indian history, providing a dedicated, high-capacity, and high-speed freight rail link between the country's busiest container port and the major consumption and manufacturing centres of northern India. Jawaharlal Nehru Port, handling the largest volume of container traffic among Indian ports, depends heavily on this rail link to move laden import containers to inland container depots in Delhi, Tughlakabad, Dadri, Kanpur, Ludhiana, and other inland points, and to bring export-laden containers from these inland container depots to the port for loading onto shipping lines. The Dedicated Freight Corridor allows longer trains, heavier axle loads, and faster average speeds than the existing mixed-traffic rail network, significantly improving the competitiveness of rail transport against road in the port hinterland. Other ports — Mundra, Pipavav, Kandla, and Hazira in Gujarat; Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Ennore, and Tuticorin in the south; Paradip and Haldia on the east coast; and Mormugao in Goa — all have rail connections that are essential for the movement of bulk commodities such as coal, fertilisers, food grains, and petroleum products. Mundra Port, operated by the Adani Group, is the largest privately operated port in India and has invested significantly in rail infrastructure including a private rail line connecting the port to the national network. Port rail yards with multiple classification lines allow wagons to be assembled into full rakes for dispatch, and the allocation of siding capacity at ports is managed to avoid congestion that would delay vessel cargo operations. The development of multi-modal logistics parks near ports, combining rail-connected container handling facilities, warehousing, customs examination facilities, and value-added services, is intended to create efficient logistics hubs that attract cargo from wide catchment areas. The National Logistics Policy and the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan identify port connectivity as a priority investment area, with the objective of reducing logistics costs and improving India's competitiveness as a manufacturing and export destination. The expansion of private freight terminal facilities and the liberalisation of private siding policy have encouraged port operators and logistics companies to invest in rail-connected infrastructure, reducing dependence on road transport and its associated costs and externalities.