Cabinet to consider land policy to ease CONCOR disinvestment: Piyush Goyal

The Union Cabinet will consider a land policy that will help in the privatisation of state-owned Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), said Rail Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday.

"We were engaged in a lot of consultation both with the private and public sector. We have also consulted Niti Aayog and the Finance Ministry," he told journalists in Delhi.

"So for the future, after all, land is not given to CONCOR, or to the world at large. We have finalised this policy and it has been sent to cabinet," he said.

The centre's plan to privatise CONCOR was stuck due to the non-clearance of the Land Licensing Fee (LLF) policy. It is expected that this disinvestment would go through after the Cabinet nod for this policy.

Speedier freight trains

Goyal also said that the speed of freight trains, which has doubled over last year, will be maintained. This will be even after other passenger trains will begin plying.

"We've already started 75 per cent of mail express trains, we are running at 95 to 97 per cent punctuality, except for a few places. And still we are maintaining freight at double the speed. There is intelligent planning. The freight trains are being put into the timetable. So we have created freight paths into the timetable," Goyal said.

"If a train goes from Mumbai to Guwahati in 2.5 days, which was earlier 7 days, you are blocking the path for much lesser time now," he said.

Commenting on the freight train speed target for next year, he said, "The target next year is 50 km per hour, we are still at 47 kmph for freight trains."