Titled ‘Fast-Tracking MMLPs to Enable Modal Shift: India’s Multimodal Logistics Transformation’, the report projects that India’s freight movement will more than quadruple to approximately 28 billion tonnes annually by 2047. To meet the National Rail Plan target, Indian Railways must handle about 12,649 million metric tonnes of freight each year by that time.
MMLPs are integrated hubs that connect rail, road, and ports while offering warehousing and mechanised handling facilities. These hubs will be essential for shifting freight transportation away from roads, which currently dominate with nearly 70% of India’s freight movement despite railways offering almost half the transportation cost.
Currently, India operates only 30 MMLPs, managing around 129 million metric tonnes of cargo annually—just 2% of total freight movement. Another 45 parks are under development. If MMLPs are to handle 30% of rail freight by 2047, they would need to process about 3,162 million metric tonnes annually, necessitating the creation of 215 next-generation logistics parks with higher throughput capabilities.
The report emphasizes that future logistics parks should be high-density consolidation hubs integrated with dedicated freight corridors (DFCs), industrial clusters, and ports. This integration aims to enhance cargo aggregation and reduce logistics costs significantly.
Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank India, highlighted the transition into a “scale-driven phase” for logistics, where integrating infrastructure will be more important than developing standalone assets. He noted that MMLPs can lower logistics costs, improve rail adoption, and support India’s manufacturing and export competitiveness.
Between FY16 and FY26, India’s logistics efficiency improved by 59%, with the Operational Infrastructure Index rising from 0.39 to 0.62. Additionally, upgrades in transport infrastructure have cut logistics costs from 13-14% of GDP a decade ago to approximately 10-10.5% of GDP in FY26, saving the economy ₹10.8-11.7 trillion annually.
The study finds that combining DFC infrastructure with modern MMLPs could reduce door-to-door freight costs by nearly 43% compared to road-only transport. Cargo dwell times at mechanised logistics parks could drop sharply to between 2.5 and 8 hours, from 34 to 152 hours at conventional goods sheds.
Currently, about 80% of Indian Railways’ freight traffic consists of bulk commodities. However, future growth is predicted to come from containerised and non-bulk sectors such as manufacturing and consumer goods, with projected annual growth rates of 8-12%.
To accelerate this modal shift, the report recommends stronger central coordination under PM Gati Shakti for strategic logistics parks, including faster land acquisition, streamlining approvals, and ensuring timely rail connectivity. It also suggests using freight from central public sector enterprises like Coal India, NTPC, Indian Oil, SAIL, and FCI as anchor cargo to ensure early commercial viability.
Improved first- and last-mile connectivity via feeder rail sidings, access roads, and integrated multi-agency planning is crucial. The report warns that without this connectivity, logistics parks could become mere road-fed warehouses instead of true multimodal hubs.
Successful early implementation in key projects across Jogighopa, Chennai, Bengaluru, Nagpur, and Indore will be vital in boosting investor confidence and advancing India’s multimodal logistics transformation.
