Operations at Rail Neer's Tamil Nadu plant by end-FY10

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) will begin operations at its Rail Neer plant in Palur, Tamil Nadu, to cater to the growing demand for packaged drinking water on the railways in the southern states, by the end of this financial year.

At present, there are only two Rail Neer units, one at Danapur in Bihar and the other at Nangloi in New Delhi. Explains Rakesh Tandon, MD, IRCTC: “Economies of scale do not permit us to distribute our product beyond 150 km from the place of production. There is (an unmet) market in the western and southern parts of the country. We want to commence operations at Palur as soon as possible.”

“The basic infrastructure at the plant has already been put in place,” he added. “The tender process is on for selecting a concessionaire to install, operate and maintain the facilities there.”

With an investment of around Rs 12 crore, the Palur plant is being designed to produce 1,80,000 bottles a day. The production capacity of the plant exceeds the combined capacity of the facilities IRCTC has developed at Nangloi and Danapur. The former is operating at its full daily capacity of 1,00,000 bottles and Danapur, which can do 6,00,000 bottles daily, is currently operating at 92 per cent capacity.

“IRCTC has also identified land for setting up another Rail Neer plant at Ambernath in Maharashtra. Administrative procedures are presently underway,” Tandon informed. The plant will be considered for commissioning next year. IRCTC is exploring possibilities of establishing more Rail Neer plants on a public-private partnership basis.