CARGOCONNECT-APRIL2026 - Flipbook - Page 30
COVER STORY
INFRASTRUCTURE IMPERATIVE
Infrastructure and
handling capability
for all time- and
temperature-sensitive shipments need
attention. Statutory
changes in Customs
handling especially
regarding the opening and examination
of sensitive cargo
must be developed.
Strengthening trucking ecosystems and
warehousing infrastructure remains
central to enabling
more predictable
nationwide cargo
movement.
SAMIR J SHAH
PRESIDENT, AIR CARGO
AGENTS ASSOCIATION OF
INDIA (ACAAI)
30 | CARGOCONNECT APRIL 2026
Infrastructure readiness for modal diversi昀椀cation also depends heavily on corridor-level
engineering preparedness. The strengthening of bridges, culverts, exit connectivity,
and height-clearance standardisation across
industrial corridors such as Delhi–Mumbai and
Chennai–Bengaluru can materially reduce route
deviations and enhance delivery predictability.
As Sharad further observes, “Designated
heavy-haul lanes on key industrial corridors
and strengthened exit connectivity can reduce
route deviation distance by 10–20% while
improving delivery predictability.”
Rail freight, particularly through the expanding DFC network, represents one of the most
significant opportunities for redistributing
long-distance cargo away from road transport.
Industry readiness to shift is already visible,
provided service-level assurances improve.
From a shipper’s standpoint, Sharad highlights,
“20–35% of current long-haul ODC road freight
could move to rail if digitised approvals, wagon
visibility, guaranteed transit windows, and heavylift capable inland terminals become operational
realities.” Importantly, he reiterates that “rail
predictability reduces safety stock requirements
at project sites,” pointing towards the workingcapital advantage of modal transition.
Similarly, coastal shipping is emerging
as a viable alternative for corridor-aligned
heavy equipment 昀氀ows, particularly across
western and southern industrial belts. While
port infrastructure is largely capable, schedule
reliability and documentation integration
remain the determining factors. Sharad notes,
“15–25% of long coastal road freight could
move to sea if 昀椀xed-schedule services, lower
port charges, and integrated road-port-road
documentation frameworks are introduced.
Unit economics already favour coastal shipping
but predictability remains the missing layer.”
At the same time, inland waterways
continue to hold corridor-speci昀椀c potential
rather than pan-India applicability. For bulk
cargo and heavy structures moving along river
basins, improved navigable draft assurance and
heavy-lift river terminals could enable selective
modal redistribution. As Sharad explains,
“5–15% modal shift is possible in select corridors
if reliability improves through year-round
draft assurance, reliable barge schedules, and
seamless multimodal integration.”
From a modal-diversification standpoint, Patodi underscores the importance
of strengthening rail-led long-haul freight
strategies. “Leveraging DFCs to move bulk cargo
through electric locomotive-based operations
can deliver nearly three times higher energy
e昀케ciency than conventional road transport,
while enabling large-scale cargo movement
without proportionately increasing the carbon
footprint,” he apprises.
Patodi further highlights the emerging
strategic relevance of inland waterways within
India’s multimodal sustainability transition,
noting that greater utilisation of the country’s
river systems—including corridors such as
National Waterway (NW 1) on the Ganga—represents one of the most sustainable transport
options available. According to him, “This
o昀昀ers a blue-ocean opportunity for companies
seeking to bypass highway congestion while
improving environmental performance across
heavy-cargo supply chains.”
Beyond engineering readiness, documentation digitisation and ecosystem-level
standardisation remain central to unlocking
modal 昀氀exibility across sectors. From a manufacturing and FMCG distribution perspective,
Vishal emphasises that reducing transit variability requires “fully digitised, predictable
customs processes with minimal manual
touchpoints, standardised documentation and
data protocols across logistics stakeholders, and
stronger 昀椀rst-mile and last-mile connectivity
to ports, factories, and logistics parks.” He
further notes, “Regional ful昀椀lment incentives
and stronger manufacturing ecosystems will
directly strengthen supply chain resilience and
working-capital efficiency across domestic
distribution networks.”
Encouragingly, modal shift intent is already
present within industry planning frameworks.
Vishal con昀椀rms, “We are strategically aligned
to shift more long-haul freight to rail and
coastal shipping,” while emphasising that “the
constraint today is reliability, integration, and
end-to-end ownership.” Predictable schedules,
door-to-door solutions, and road-equivalent
tracking standards remain the primary triggers
for acceleration.
From a transformation perspective, the
next phase of infrastructure competitiveness will depend less on asset creation and
more on operational intelligence. As Yadav
explains, “Smart infrastructure is not just
built — it is continuously optimised,” highlighting the importance of national logistics
data standardisation, predictive congestion
forecasting, and uni昀椀ed multimodal visibility
layers. He further emphasises, “Integrated
multimodal logistics ecosystems supported
by unified digital operations will reshape
the next decade, positioning infrastructure
intelligence as the next multiplier of logistics
performance.”
This shift toward predictive infrastructure
capability is also central to reducing safety
stock dependence across manufacturing supply chains. According to Srivastava, “Full
implementation of a single-window interoperable digital platform linking customs, ports,
shipping lines, railways, and road transport
would signi昀椀cantly reduce clearance delays
