News / ONE joins with DP World to launch reefer intermodal service in India

Photo: DP World

Singapore-based container line ONE has partnered with DP World’s inland logistics arm in India to launch what it claims is “an industry-leading inland solution” for reefer trade, a complex segment of the supply chain.

A scheduled train service from the Thimmapur ICD (inland container depot) near Hyderabad, in the southern state of Telegana, to Nhava Sheva Port (JNPA) began last week.

The train can carry 43 40ft reefer containers with perishable or temperature-controlled cargo, and is claimed to be the first intermodal reefer service by a mainline carrier covering Indian trades.

“This direct link provides a fixed cut-off and fixed-day railment schedule, making it a more dependable solution than​ road transport,” ONE said. “This single-transaction solution provides seamless and competitive multimodal reefer transport from the inland origin point to the gateway terminal.”

The declared schedule indicates a guaranteed Thursday morning train departure from Hyderabad and a Saturday morning arrival in Nhava Sheva.

DP World, which operates more than 100 freight trains across Indian ports, claimed the new inland solution would be a boon for pharmaceutical exporters looking to overcome transport bottlenecks.

“By shifting cargo from road to rail, the service ensures vessel connectivity while maintaining stable temperatures, which is critical to preserving the efficacy and potency of pharmaceutical products,” said the Dubai-based logistics group.

“By consolidating cargo in a single train, rail ensures the entire volume reaches the port together, aligned with vessel schedules,” it noted.

According to industry sources, the train schedule has been designed to feed ONE’s weekly sailings out of Nhava Sheva to North Europe and the US east coast (USEC).

Masahiro Sakikubo, MD of ONE (India), said the collaboration brought “an integrated rail-sea approach focused on driving greater logistics efficiency gains for Indian exporters as they look to expand their market reach”.

However, ONE’s ocean-side picture is not so rosy amid the Red Sea-linked rotation challenges. Its vessel schedules on Indian trades have been under severe pressure because of persistent blanked calls, sparking service reliability concerns for exporters/importers.

For example, its WIN service to USEC has just two sailings this month, with voyages in weeks 43 and 45 blanked.

Nonetheless, industry sources believe the rail service has opened a direct mainline connectivity window for southern India shippers that historically relied on transhipment over Sri Lanka’s Colombo port or Singapore.

DP World’s inland assets in India include eight rail terminals and over 16,000 containers/trailers.

“These, combined with integrated warehousing and digital monitoring systems, position DP World to support sectors that require refrigerated cargo connectivity between Hyderabad and Nhava Sheva, in both directions,” it added.

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