Privately operated Adani Hazira Port announced state-owned rail operator Container Corporation of India has begun operating a regular train service connecting the terminal with Pithampur, a busy inland destination in the central region, increasing hinterland shippers’ access to the minor, alternative gateway.

“Through this regular rail movement, export-import trade in central India has got an alternative rail gateway, which will provide them faster turnaround of trains along with world-class infrastructure at Adani Hazira Port,” the private terminal operator said in a trade notice. “Hazira is around 270 kilometers (about 168 miles) shorter in distance from Pithampur in comparison to Nhava Sheva (Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust) and the rail freight paid for Hazira is lower when compared to Nhava Sheva.”

The new intermodal operation follows on the heels of several mainline container carriers adding regular, weekly calls at Adani Hazira Container Terminal.

The company said major carriers, including Maersk Line, CMA CGM and Mediterranean Shipping Co., are using the train service to connect their export cargo via Hazira.

“We are happy with the new development of rail connectivity to Hazira Port, which will give us flexibility in terms of planning our exports and will reduce our lead time along with providing certainty of connecting our containers on time,” said an official at National Steel, which moves regular shipments from Pithampur to Hazira, in a statement.

Hazira Port, which is about 120 nautical miles north of JNPT, is operated by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, India’s biggest port infrastructure developer. The container facility there includes two berths with total quay of 2,132 feet, a draft of 46 feet, about 3,300 ground slots, six quay cranes and 14 rubber-tire gantry cranes, capable of handling 750,000 20-foot-equivalent units annually.

Port statistics compiled by JOC.com show Hazira more than doubled its container throughput in the first seven fiscal months through the end of October 2015 to 155,383 TEUs from 84,389 TEUs in the same period during fiscal year 2014-15. Hazira's volume in 2014-15, which ended in March 2015, totaled 154,374 TEUs, according to the annual data.