APL Logistics extends double-stack train service to India

by Press Release on 2011-07-20

Service network to widen as new rail corridors open up for stacked trains

APL Logistics said it has run its first double-stack container train service in India.   APL IndiaLinx, its rail operations arm in the country, stacked 90 forty-foot boxes two high on a train that departed Mundra Port on the west coast on June 16 for an inland container rail terminal at Kishangarh, near Delhi.

The double-stacked train operation for the Mundra-Kishangarh followed the Indian Railways’ recent decision to allow stacked train access along this rail corridor.  The development was part of the rail authority’s bigger project to provide a freight-dedicated network of railroads with double-stack train access connecting key gateway ports and major North Indian industrial centers before end 2016.  APL IndiaLinx plans to expand its stacked train service network as more rail corridors are allowed double-stack access.

“Double-stack trains are becoming an imperative in the rapidly-growing Indian market,” said Amitabha Chaudhuri, Managing Director of APL IndiaLinx.  “They help to ease congestion at ports where capacity constraint of rail corridors exists.  Shippers also stand to enjoy improved connectivity between the key gateway ports and the major industrial centers in North India, and predictability, as we roll out stacked train services.”

About APL Logistics
APL Logistics provides international, integrated supply chain services in 53 countries, including both origin and destination services such as freight consolidation, warehousing and distribution management. It deploys innovative and technology solutions that help customers improve visibility, optimize performance and reduce costs in supply chains. APL Logistics is a unit of Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), a global cargo transportation and logistics company. APL Logistics Web site: www.apllogistics.com

About APL IndiaLinx
Established in 2006, APL IndiaLinx is one of the first private-owned companies to be granted the most comprehensive rail operating license in India.  It owns and operates 18 weekly rail services between inland container rail terminals in the North India and the gateway ports on India’s west coast.  The domestic rail operations arm of APL Logistics in India, APL IndiaLinx reported a strong growth of 70% in volume and 90% in revenue in 2010. Website: www.aplindialinx.com