Railways To Acquire Tanker-Wagons To Transport Fuel

The railway ministry has begun acquiring oil and gas tank wagons after five years. It has also decided to introduce three more manufacturers for tank wagons under the vendor development programme.

By introducing new manufacturers, the railways are preparing to meet the expected demand for movement of naphtha and other petroleum products from independent power producers.

The railways had discontinued placing fresh orders for supply of tank wagons in 1992 because of fears that the Kanda-Bhatinda product pipeline of the Indian Oil Corporation will take away a substantial part of the petroleum traffic, a fear that has come true in the past three years.

 

Recent developments in the oil sector and the expected demand for movement of naphtha and fuel oil from IPPs has prompted the railways to encourage three more companies to manufacture tank wagons.

Simco, a Birla firm, and Mumbai-based Richardson Cruddas have been given orders to manufacture 100 tank wagons in 1998-99. Simco has manufactured other wagons in the past and will now diversify into production of tank wagons for broad-gauge lines while Richardson Cruddas is a new entrant in the field.

The railways have also asked Chennai-based Southern Structurals to produce 100 pressurised gas wagons. The company has already delivered 20 such wagons, officials said.

Existing makers of tank wagons are Texmaco, Braithwaite, Burn Standard and Hindusthan Development Corporation. These companies have received orders for manufacture of 400 tank wagons from the railways and expect another order for 500 tank wagons from the public sector oil industry in 1998-99.

This is part of the agreement between the railways and the oil industry that they will equally share the cost of acquiring new wagons.

They have jointly projected the need for 1,000 wagons this year, but the requirement might go up to 1,200 wagons towards the end of the year.

Existing players are also involved in the production of pressurised gas wagons. They have a pending order of 150 gas wagons while the new player, Southern Structurals, has been given an order to supply 100 gas wagons.

All three parties _- the railways, the oil industry and wagon manufacturers _- are keeping their fingers crossed about the possibility of liquid power projects coming up in the private sector.

However, the railways face competition from the road transport sector and from oil and gas pipelines by the public sector oil industry.

The railways are also trying to persuade the oil industry to give up some of its plans for putting up new oil pipelines.

The oil industry has indicated that it will allocate about 45 per cent of its oil movement requirements to the railways and share the rest with pipelines and the road transport sector.