Letters: Competing with Panama

This refers to the report “Container rail freight rates set to rise 31 per cent” (November 19). Concor managing director’s statement that rail movements are not competitive below 300 km universally is likely to be belied by China. China is building a 220-km rail line through Columbia — three times the length of the Panama Canal, and connecting the ports of the Atlantic and the Pacific in order to boost its exports to the Americas. It says its success depends “on the cost of transporting per tonne, the cost of investment, and they all work out”. In this regard, thus, our container operators should neither have concerns of margins being hit, nor passing of some of the proposed rate rise to consumers.

S Subramanyan Navi Mumbai

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