Whitefield-Delhi container train gets 166-hour assured transit time

Containers leaving Whitefield for Delhi will have a 166-hour assured rail transit time under a new weekly service to Tughlakabad via Chennai.

Container Corporation of India Ltd (Concor) launched the service from the Inland Container Depot in Whitefield in collaboration with Indian Railways. Union minister of state for railways V Somanna flagged off the service and said the roughly 2,500-km route is about 30% faster than the present transit time.

The train is scheduled to leave Whitefield every Saturday. Containers will first travel to Tondiarpet in Chennai, where Delhi-bound cargo will be consolidated before continuing to Tughlakabad.

Railways said it is south India’s first container train service with an assured transit time. The link is expected to serve industrial areas in Whitefield, Hoskote, Malur, Bommasandra, Electronics City, Bidadi, Jigani, Anekal, Attibele, Peenya, Nelamangala and Devanahalli, along with the Mysuru corridor.

For now, cargo from Tumakuru can reach the service by road. Somanna said direct services from Tumakuru could begin after a container terminal at Thimmanahalli is developed.