The Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation has called for an integrated road-rail-port logistics ecosystem to increase the share of railways in freight transportation and reduce logistics costs for industry.
The demand was made during a meeting with a supply chain management centre delegation from IIM Bangalore, which is conducting a study with South Central Railway to understand freight movement patterns and identify cargo that can shift from road to rail.
AP Chambers president Potluri Bhaskara Rao said rail was ideal for bulk and long-distance cargo, but MSMEs faced hurdles including inadequate freight aggregation, poor first- and last-mile connectivity, limited rail-linked logistics facilities and difficulties in moving small consignments.
The chambers suggested freight aggregation centres at major industrial clusters to consolidate smaller consignments, besides strategically located Mini Inland Container Depots (Mini ICDs) and rail-linked terminals offering containerisation, warehousing and logistics services.
It stressed greater coordination among railways, ports, roads, warehouses and Multimodal Logistics Parks, saying Andhra Pradesh’s industrial base, ports and emerging logistics infrastructure offered significant potential for rail-based movement of industrial, agricultural, containerised and EXIM cargo.
AP Chambers said rail’s modal share should be improved through reliable transit times, transparent pricing, digital tracking, flexible services and efficient first- and last-mile connectivity, rather than merely comparing freight rates. It urged the IIMB-SCR study to identify commodity- and corridor-wise “shiftable freight” and suggest infrastructure and policy measures to make it commercially viable.
IIMB SCMC CEO Rajeev R. Trupati, COO Aditya Gupta, project coordinator Krishna Mohan and former director Raghuram participated, along with AP Chambers executive vice-president B Raja Sekhar and board member Velagapudi Sambasiva Rao.
