New Delhi: Ministry of Railways has further liberalized General Purpose Wagon Investment Scheme (GPWIS) for prospective investors, on the basis of feedback received from investors and end users, by incorporating the following amendments:
- End users (other than logistics service providers) also have been granted permission to load third party cargo in their rakes in empty direction. This will not only reduce the empty run of GPWIS rakes, but will also entail additional revenue to end user investors, in form of freight rebate.
- Design Loan charges on General Purpose wagons have been reduced from 5% to 1%. This will significantly reduce the initial investment required for procurement of wagons.
As there was long term demand from Railway Freight Wagons Users (PSUs, Industries and other stakeholders) for better and timely availability of General Purpose Wagons (GPW) it was decided by Ministry of Railways in April 2018, to introduce a scheme for investment in General Purpose Wagons.
Since the launch of this scheme, approvals for 163 rakes have been granted and 20 rakes have already been inducted into operation. As a result of these relaxations, it is expected that the scheme will become more attractive for prospective investors.
