This is in response to the railway ministry's invitation for proposals for the second round of licences to companies wanting to run container trains. The invitation is open from December 1 to January 31. Companies have to pay a one-time licence fee and haulage charges for using railway tracks and infrastructure.

Railway ministry officials said big companies like Transport Corporation of India, Future group and Bharti were among the first to show interest in the proposal.

"Yes we have been talking to the railways on various issues of co-operation and using their infrastructure, which will help us to build our logistics and supply chain. However, nothing has been concretised yet," Future group Chairman Kishore Biyani told Business Standard.

When contacted, Transport Corporation of India Executive Director Vineet Agarwal said: "We are studying the bid documents for a licence to run container trains. We are also examining the key changes in the agreement." He declined to divulge more details.

At the moment Concor, a public sector company controlled by the railways, has a monopoly in running container trains across the country. It offers ferrying rates to carry containers that are one-third of that on roads.

The routes offered to the private sector in the second round include Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust to Delhi, and Mundra Port to Delhi -- the busiest container routes in the country, responsible for over 60 per cent of the total container traffic by rail in the country.