Maersk has inaugurated a dedicated weekly reefer rail service connecting Hyderabad's pharmaceutical manufacturing cluster to Nhava Sheva port, developed in close partnership with CONCOR, the Container Corporation of India. The service is purpose-built for the needs of pharmaceutical exporters and operates on a fixed weekly schedule using 40-foot refrigerated containers.
Pre-trip inspection compliance and quality-aligned container selection are built into every shipment. The corridor is structured as a true end-to-end cold chain solution under a single-window arrangement, with Maersk assuming responsibility across inland rail, ocean freight and shipment visibility throughout the journey.
Documentation, compliance assistance, cold-chain advisory support and last-mile trucking at the destination are also available to customers. Several of Hyderabad's leading pharmaceutical manufacturers are already using the service, with additional customers in the onboarding process. The service addresses a long-standing industry requirement for reliable, temperature-controlled inland transport that also offers lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to road haulage.
Export lanes served by the corridor include North America's East Coast ports covering Newark, Norfolk, Charleston and Savannah, as well as Latin America, Europe and other reefer trade destinations. Thomas Theeuwes, Managing Director of Maersk South Asia, described the service as a direct response to the pharmaceutical sector's demand for precision, reliability and accountability across the supply chain.
He acknowledged CONCOR's partnership as instrumental in making the corridor operational and framed the initiative within Maersk's broader commitment to building logistics infrastructure aligned with the evolving needs of Indian industry, where the pharmaceutical export sector represents a significant and growing segment of the country's trade economy.
Key Takeaways:
1. Maersk has launched a weekly reefer rail service from Hyderabad to Mumbai in partnership with CONCOR.
2. The service uses 40-foot refrigerated containers and provides end-to-end cold chain solutions tailored for pharmaceutical exporters.
3. Leading pharmaceutical manufacturers in Hyderabad are already using the service with more customers onboarding.
4. The corridor serves export lanes including Newark, Norfolk, Charleston, Savannah, Latin America and Europe.
5. Rail transport offers lower greenhouse gas emissions compared to road haulage.
