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
FAK (Freight All Kinds) - Haulage charge per TEU (Twenty foot Equivalent Unit) - All commodities other than few notified in CCR
CCR - Container Class Rate - Few notified commodities
Haulage charges - Telescopic basis under Hub & Spoke system of movement.
New Initiatives to promote Container Business are:
Haulage charge for cube containers
Haulage charge for Double stack Dwarf container,
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:
Up to serving station plus siding charge (movement between serving and siding)
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:
Standard bags
HR/CR coil/sheets
Low density commodities like pet coke, met coke, nut coke, chuni, de-oiled cake
Empty container traffic
Containerised import traffic
Nepal bound traffic
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:
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.
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.
—-end—