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Containers stranded due to damaged train track
More than 500 Nepal-bound containers have been stuck at Kolkata port in India for two weeks due to the slow pace of repairs after a railway track was damaged.More than 500 Nepal-bound containers have been stuck at Kolkata port in India for two weeks due to the slow pace of repairs after a railway track was damaged.
Kolkata port is the only gateway for Nepal’s trade with third countries by sea.
As of Monday, there were 525 containers stranded at the port and 180 containers stuck midway on the railway line, according to Himalayan Terminal, which manages the Sirsiya Inland Container Depot (ICD) or Dry Port in Birgunj where the containers are being shipped.
“Two freight trains stuck on the track between the port and the ICD are expected to arrive in Birgunj by Wednesday,” said Ram Babu Sah, administrator officer of the terminal. Railway services have been affected for the last two weeks after two trains ran off the rails.
Around two dozen railway carriages, each with a capacity to carry 90 containers, have been immobilized. Three carriages arrived at the ICD in the past week. Officials said that irregular railway services had affected the government’s revenue collection.
Kolkata port has a sole railway track. Traders said that frequent problems on the track had been affecting their business. No attention has been paid to such recurring problems, they complained.
“As Indian Railways has accorded priority to passenger services, the transportation of cargo has been affected,” said Ashok Temani, former president of the Birgunj Commerce and Industry Association. “Besides, there are other factors that have been delaying consignments, and traders have to pay the penalty.”
Containers containing goods imported from third countries have to be returned to Kolkata port within two weeks after their arrival at the ICD. However, the turnaround time normally lasts 20-22 days, due to which shipping companies have been forced to pay demurrage.
Traders have been asking for a convenient period while importing goods from third countries via Kolkata port to cut the detention charges levied by shipping companies.
In February last year, 700 Nepal-bound containers were stuck at the Indian port for a week due to the construction work being done on the broad-gauge railway yard on the Raxaul-Muzaffarpur section of the railway. As a result, Nepali importers had to pay high detention charges and demurrage for keeping the containers at Kolkata port.