India will need 216 multi-modal logistics parks (MMLPs) by 2047 to achieve its goals of transforming shipping modes and better connecting industrial centers to the rail network, according to a report released on Friday by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Knight Frank.
Integrating dedicated freight lanes with multimodal logistics parks can reduce door-to-door logistics costs by up to 43% compared to road transportation, while significantly reducing cargo handling and length of stay, it said.
Multimodal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) were first proposed by the government in 2017, with a plan to build 35 MMLPs approved, with the Cabinet formally authorizing the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to develop them in October 2017 as part of the first phase of Bharatmala Pariyojana. However, only five of them are in different stages of development.
The government has now scaled down its approach to build just nine of them, primarily due to restrictions on land acquisition, a Union government official told HT.
The report identified insufficient connectivity between industrial clusters and railway stations as a major obstacle preventing increased use of railways for freight traffic. While rail transportation provides lower line costs over longer distances, industries often continue to rely on trucking because of the difficulties of transporting goods between factories and railroads.
The ‘Fast Track MMLPs to Enable Paradigm Shift’ report said that despite nearly $360 billion of public investment in transport infrastructure over the past decade, freight movement in India remains highly dependent on roads, which account for about 70% of freight movement.
“The inflection point in terms of logistics cost is 600 km, where road becomes cheaper than rail. If the first mile and last mile are within 50 km, it is 800 km, and if the first mile and last mile are 100 km, it will be 1,000 km,” Union Road Transport and Highways Secretary said.
Umashankar said at the report launch, citing DPIIT-NCAER Report 2025.
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Umashankar also called for closer coordination between ministries and transport agencies in infrastructure planning.
“Until recently, roads and railways operated under their own planning package. At some points we may be in a better position than railways to achieve the ultimate goal, and in many cases railways will be in a better position than us to achieve the goal,” he said.
Experiences from Germany, the Netherlands and Singapore show that integrated logistics parks improve supply chain efficiency and support a greater shift towards rail-based freight movement, the report said.
It recommended faster implementation of MMLPs through increased participation of the private sector, industry clusters and freight aggregation to improve freight flows and utilization.
Shishir Baijal, International Partner, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India, said: “The challenge is no longer one of building infrastructure alone. India has made significant progress in building transportation corridors; the next stage requires integrating them into a seamless and commercially viable freight ecosystem. The critical missing link is intermodal interchange infrastructure capable of connecting dispersed industrial demand with high-capacity rail networks.”
