Maersk India, the Indian unit of integrated logistics company A P Moller-Maersk, said it will start a dedicated weekly rail service for export reefers (refrigerated containers) in the next few days linking Dadri in Northern India with Jawaharlal Nehru Port on the country’s western coast.
In a fast-paced business environment, customers are looking for integrated solutions, where they deal with a single window instead of multiple vendors, Prajeesh Ravindranathan, Head of Cold Chain and Pharma, South Asia, Maersk said.
“Especially in reefers, inventory management from empty pick up till vessel boarding, the customers have to reach out to multiple touch points. To give ease of doing business to customers, we are starting a dedicated weekly rail service for export reefers from Dadri to Nhava Sheva (where J N Port is located),” Ravindranathan said.
Maersk said it will be the first ever export reefer dedicated, scheduled rail service, which will make it seamless from inventory allotment till vessel onboarding.
Copenhagen-based A P Moller-Maersk runs Maersk Line, one of the top three container carriers globally.
The export reefer containers will be connected to Maersk’s ME2 service calling at J N Port.
Dadri in Uttar Pradesh is a rail hub, a junction for the Western and Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridors.
J N Port will be fully connected to the Western DFC sometime next year, a development that is eagerly awaited by the country’s export-import (EXIM) trade as it will help run double stack container trains, saving time and costs for shippers (cargo owners).