Description of the organizations included in the study

Lesson 2

116 Container freight station: (CFS)

O u t l i n e o f t h e l e s s o nO u t l i n e o f t h e l e s s o nO u t l i n e o f t h e l e s s o nO u t l i n e o f t h e l e s s o n

1. Terminologies of container freight station 2. Concept of CFS

3. Facilities provided by CFS

4. Concept of Inland container Depots(Dry ports)

L e a r n i n g O b j e c t i v e s L e a r n i n g O b j e c t i v e s L e a r n i n g O b j e c t i v e s L e a r n i n g O b j e c t i v e s

After studying this lesson, you should be able to:

After studying this lesson, you should be able to:

After studying this lesson, you should be able to:

After studying this lesson, you should be able to:

1. Understand the nature of container freight station

2. Know the facilities provided by CFS 3. Outline the concept of Inland container

depots

At a container port, ISO containers move from ship to railway wagons through various stages from ship to berth, berth to container, container yard to container freight station (CFS) and from there to railway marshalling yard. At these stages, the handling of containers in the CFS is of great importance and much of the success of handling international containers depends upon the design, planning and operations of the container freight station.

A CFS is a station is an enclosed area where rail and road facilities are provided for the transfer of containers between road and road and between road and rail units. It contains facilities of mobile and static cranes, warehouses for goods, customs clearance sheds etc.

The main activity of CFS is to ensure that a container is ready for onward movement either towards the ship or towards the hinterland by road or by rail.

Containers arrive at the CFS in an empty or loaded condition by road, rail, or ship, either in break- bulk condition or in container loads. It is the function of the CFS to match the goods and containers after observing the prescribed formalities and move them forward in an empty or loaded condition.

The goods for export, which may arrive in a bulk condition at the CFS are stuffed into containers for easy handling and transport by ship. The less than container loads (LCLS)

Arriving from different places is stripped and the contents are reformed into full container loads (FCL) at the CFS. The empty containers are sent to the places where they are required.

The main facilities provided by CFS are:

1) Warehouses

2) Stripping and stuffing stations, where containers are destuffed and stuffed – these activities have to be performed in separate allotted areas to avoid a mix up contents.

3) Separate stacking areas for loaded containers meant for export and import and keeping empties.

4) Container park area.

5) Back up, storage, workshop, fuelling station, tractor trailer park, fire station.

6) Roads and parking area for road units

7) Receipt and despatch facilities including offices.

To achieve a smooth flow of movement, the CFS provides for a road and rail interface with areas gradated for import and export activities.

CFS handles goods arriving for export by rail as well as by road. It is not necessary that goods arriving by road should come in containers. Some of the goods by road may reach in bulk condition. At the CFS, such goods are stuffed into containers.

The size of a CFS is determined on the basis of the traffic offered, the frequency of services and time required for completing the operations and formalities. At the CFS an area for seven day storage on an average stack of 1.5 containers high basis may be provided. Stripping and stuffing stations are provided with covered area.

The location of CFS should not be an obstacle to the future development of the port.

Nor should it take away the area behind the port’s active zone which is required for such support facilities as storage, shed, workshop facilities, maintenance shops, repair shops for sick containers, buildings for various offices etc.

The location of the CFS should be away from the berthing place and the container yard, so that sufficient land is available for back up facilities required not only now but also 30 to 40 years.

CFS should also facilitate centralisation of customs inspection. Therefore it should be a bonded area.

Inland Container Depots or Dry ports:

• With the increase in containerisation of cargo all over the world, the ICD have assumed an important role in the logistics chain.

• A lot still needs to be done to upgrade the existing facilities at ICDs

• The waiting time of containers before loading them on block trains at ICDs is high.

• For imports: the container take on an average 15-18 days before they leave the gateway ports. The surprising things are that the same goods coming from the UK to India takes only 24 days.

• Container delays at Indian ports cost approximately US $ 70 million a year, putting us at the cost disadvantage.

• With the passing of multi modal transport of goods act 1993 to promote inter – modal transport, development of ICDs have become of paramount importance to facilitate ‘door to door’ delivery concept. Private sector takes the lead in developing ICDs either by joint venture or other acceptable mode of participation.

• Electronification of ICDs and customs with the user should be initiated on a priority basis.

As export and import of cargoes in India started rising, use of containers has been on the rise. These containers were however handled mainly at the major ports leading to slackened cargo movements. This led to the formation of container depots in link with CONCOR to undertake the transport of the containers. This system of linking of gateway ports through railways was approved and the Indian railways were entrusted with the work. Inland container Depots were established at the following places by the Ministry of commerce, Govt of India.

1. Anaparthi 2. Bangalore 3. New Delhi 4. Guntur

6. Coimbatore 7. Hyderabad Review questions:

1. Explain the term container freight station. (CFS)

2. Detail the facilities provided by the container freight station.

3. Explain dry port / Inland container depot. (ICD)

MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION AND CONCOR