Freight Incentives - March 2025 - Titbits

 

Freight Incentives - March 2025 - Titbits

• Source: Important policy measures for freight customers issued by Rates branch (Commercial Dept), Railway Board (Web page of Traffic Commercial Directorate of IR Website) & www.fois.indianrailways.gov.in 

• Freight Incentive schemes are 1. Liberalised Automatic Freight Rebate Scheme for traffic loaded in TEFD (Traditional Empty Flow Direction) 2. MGR - Merry Go Round, 3. Concession on Short Lead Traffic, 4. STS (Station To Station) Rates etc

• TEFD -Traditional Empty Flow Direction -  Rates Circular No. 9 of 2024

• MGR - Merry Go Round - Concession on movement of coal traffic in closed circuit - Rates Circular No. 7 of 2016 - extended up to 30.04.2025

• Short lead concession -  up to 100 kms - Rates Circular 20 of 2016

• STS (Station To Station) Rates - Concession granted on incremental traffic over benchmark NTKM (Net Tonne Kilo Meter) - Rates Circular 15 of 2022

Transportation Product:

• Transportation Products - Consists of Block Rake, Mini Rake, Two / Multi Point Rake & Cargo Aggregator Transportation Produce - Rates Circular No. 3 of 2024

• Block Rake - Train carrying notified number of wagons for a single destination. 

• Mini Rake - Short rake composed of a lesser number of wagons than specified for a Block Rake. 

• Two / Multi Point Rake - Trains carrying Wagons destined to two or more than two destinations respectively. 

• Cargo transportation product - facilitates cargo aggregation and expands the commodity basket of Indian Railways. 

Commodity Classification:

• At present commodities have been classified in 19 different classes

• Important criteria for charging freight  - “What the commodity can Bear”.  The factors are transportation characteristics of different commodities like loadability, value of the commodity, raw or finished, essential commodities etc. 

• Authority: Goods Tariff No. 49 - Part I (vol.II) and Part II

PCC - Permissible Carrying Capacity (of Wagons) 

 

• PCC has been fixed for different routes based on permissible axle load for these routes and wagons both. 

• PCC = Chargeable weight of the Wagons  (for optimum utilisation of the carrying capacity of the Wagons) 

Dynamic Pricing Policy:

 

• Demand Management Charges includes Busy Season charge, Congestion charge, Development surcharge, Supplementary charge etc.

• It varies according to the Season, Routes, Economic activities. 

RORO - Roll On Roll Off

 

• A Service model  

• Loaded / Empty trucks similar to container / Automobile traffic drive in and off the bogies for transportation of various commodities by Rail 

• Door to Door service 

• Reducing the congestion on the Roads 

• RORO - Notified as a Commodity in Goods Tariff 

• Free time - 3 Hours (for Loading / Unloading)

• Authority: Rates Circular 17 of 2022 

DFC - Dedicated Freight Corridor: 

 

• DFCCIL (Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd)  - granted the status of Railway Administration. 

• The Commercial Rules of IR  - applicable to DFCCIL  - mutatis mutandis like a Zonal Railway till IR is the sole operator. 

• To capture the new freight segment in Intra -  DFCCIL Traffic, the following measures have been taken:  

• Concessions

• Special Rates for Intra 

• Waiver of Demurrage / Wharfage

• RORO Movement 

Container Traffic: 

• Private Container operators  - permitted to handle their rakes at Railway owned Terminals by notifying as CRT - Container Rail Terminal, on payment of  TAC - Terminal Access Charge

• Guidelines are laid down for Free time, stacking charges, detention charges, Ground usage charges and waiver thereof. 

• Haulage charges  - Transportation of Containers in privately owned wagons by Rail - Two types of Rates 

1. FAK (Freight All Kinds) - Haulage charge per TEU (Twenty foot Equivalent Unit) - All commodities other than few notified in CCR

2. CCR - Container Class Rate - Few notified commodities 

• Haulage charges - Telescopic basis under Hub & Spoke system of movement.

 

• New Initiatives to promote Container Business are: 

1. Haulage charge for cube containers 

2. Haulage charge for Double stack Dwarf container, 

3. Round trip based charging in case of ultra short lead, etc.

Registration of Wagons:

• Customer can register demand for wagons on payment of WRF - Wagon Registration Fee

• WRF exemptions:  

• Premier customers (Gold & Silver card holders)

• Container Traffic 

• Military Traffic 

• Premium Indent scheme - facility of supply of Wagons on indicated date by the customer on collection of Premium charge. 

• e-RD - electronic Registration of Demand -  Registration of Demand for Wagons electronically. 

TMS - Terminal Management System: 

• Online Goods Balance Sheet 

• System based calculation of freight charges

• System based preparation of RR - Railway Receipt / Money Receipt / Demurrage & Wharfage bill / e CR - electronic Cash Remittance etc.

Sidings: 

 

• Two methods of freight charging: 

1. Up to serving station plus siding charge (movement between serving and siding) 

2. Through Distance basis 

• Siding charges - worked out on the basis of EHC - Engine Hour Cost and Average trip time for movement of Wagons / rake between serving station & siding. 

• EHC - notified by the RB on yearly basis for Diesel & Electric locomotives. 

• Through Distance basis - Freight  

•  Applicable for Block Rakes - going into the siding directly or indirectly with the Engine pulling or pushing.

• No detention to engines except for change of ends

• No separate shunting staff required exclusively for this purpose. 

• Freight is levied up to the buffer end of the siding / yard. 

Shunting Charge levied subject to:  

• Perform shunting operations in a siding. 

• Irrespective of the fact whether the siding is notified on through distance basis or otherwise. 

• On the basis of actual shunting time and EHC - Engine Hour Cost.  

Weighbridges: 

 

• All loading points are to be covered with Weighbridges. 

• Zonal Railways notify associate weighbridge and alternate associate weighbridge for each loading point. 

• Linked with FOIS - Freight Operations Information System. 

• Installation of Weighbridges by private parties. 

• Provision of pre-weighbin / Weightometer and Static Weighbridge with silo system at Private Sidings. 

Punitive charges: 

 

• Levied for Overloading.

• Exemption from mandatory Weighment for the following items subject to the fulfillment of the prescribed conditions are: 

1. Standard bags

2. HR/CR coil/sheets

3. Low density commodities like pet coke, met coke, nut coke, chuni, de-oiled cake

4. Empty container traffic

5. Containerised import traffic

6. Nepal bound traffic

7. Automobile wagons carrying motor vehicles 

Free time for Demurrage, Wharfage & Stabling charges and their waiver. 

 

• Demurrage charges - for detention of railway wagons beyond permissible free time. 

• Wharfage charges - for non removal of consignments at Railway premises beyond permissible free time

• Stabling charges - for detention of privately owned Wagons.  

Goods Shed: 

• Alternate Goods Shed - to incentivize the utilisation of the same, Non levy of Terminal charges for handling traffic at alternate Goods sheds.

• Notifying the Alternate Goods Shed - Zonal Railways are empowered.

• Loading / Unloading at Goods shed   - by Consignors or consignees only (not by Indian Railways)

• However as a gesture measure, IR provides the facilities of drinking water, toilets, bathing and resting facilities for labour at Goods sheds. 

• But Railways are not accountable for service conditions of labour including ID card, medical facility, railway pass, minimum wages, recognition of labour union etc. 

e-RD - electronic Registration of Demand for wagons 

 

• It has been in vogue since 2014. 

• Through FOIS portal (Freight Operations Information System)

• Customers can register and verify themselves on the e-Demand module of FOIS.

• Collecting WRF - Wagon Registration Fee electronically 

• Simpler, convenient & transparent process

eT-RR - electronic Transmission of Railway Receipt:

 

• It has been in vogue since 2019.

• User friendly and paperless transaction system 

• RR is transmitted electronically to the Rail customers

• The Consignor can transfer eT-RR  to the Consignee or registered user of his organisation through FOIS. 

• Delivery of consignment  - on a-surrender of eT-RR by the Consignee. 

• Applicable for rebooking and diversion of traffic. 

• eT-RR is transmitted electronically to the Destination station as well as Accounts office for verification purposes. 

Digital payments - Two types:

1. E-Payment system: 

• Collection of freight charges directly from the customer’s Bank A/c 

• Tripartite agreement between Customer, Bank & Railways. 

• Quadripartite agreement - Allowed Handling agent of customer and Private Banks.

• All Nationalised/Public Sector Banks, HDFC, AXIS, ICICI & Kotak Mahindra banks are permitted. 

  

2.  Online Payment: 

• Launched in 2021 June

• Via SBI payment gateway through Internet Banking, RTGS, NEFT, Credit / Debit Card, UPI. 

• Available round the clock on all 7 days in a week. 

• For Payment of Freight and ancillary charges

FBD - Freight Business Development:

 

• Launched in 2021 December

• Digital facility

• No need for manual applications by Rail customers for different activities. 

• Customer can upload his signed application and the system will forward such applications to the concerned Railway authorities (for stacking permission, rebooking, diversion, short of destination delivery, waiver of demurrage / wharfage charges, STS etc.  

RGP - Rail Green Points: 

• Launched in 2022 May.

• Assigning the customers for Carbon saving points as RGP - Rail Green Points

• Gives a “Feel Good Factor” to the freight customers and act motivate them to transport more by Rail.  

Dangerous goods: 

• Prescribed in Red Tariff

• Norms & Guidelines of IMDG - International Maritime Dangerous Goods

Social Obligations: 

• Transportation of relief materials to flood affected areas. 

• Essential commodities carried below the cost. 

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