Will Concors rail bridge idea work?
HE Container Corporation of India (Concor) is providing the rail bridge between the two dock systems Kolkata Dock System (KDS) and Haldia Dock Complex (HDC), both under the Kolkata Port Trust. It all started when the sudden fall in the draught in the Hooghly river recently forced a foreign shipping line to unload 145 KDS-bound containers at HDC. The ship could not come up to KDS. Concor immediately swung into action by offering rakes for transportation of the boxes from HDC to KDS. Now, the shipping line finds the arrangement quite useful. The road transportation of the boxes from HDC to KDS would have cost much more. Second, the vessel was not required to make two calls, entailing substantial savings in marine and port charges. Given an opportunity, Concor would perhaps like to do more such operation. But much will depend on the shipping lines. More important, the KDS authorities may not be too happy over it. After all, the rivalry between the two arms of the same port is only too wel
