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Minimise loading variation at CIL, ports: Railways

October 10: In a bid to mitigate rake shortages, Indian Railways (IR) has suggested that coal loading from Coal India Ltd and the ports be minimised so as to ensure optimal utilisation of transport capacities, a senior IR official said.

“Variations in loading from CIL and ports should be minimised for optimal utilisation of transport capacities,” the official said.

In the first six months of 2014, coal loading (in terms of rakes per day) by CIL has varied by 22%, as against 32% in 2013. In July, for instance, coal loaded on to the number of rakes was as low as 174 per day compared to 211 in January.

In case of imported coal, the variation was much higher, especially at the western ports, the official said. For instance, the rake loading at Mundra Port varied between 19 and 129 during January-July, 2014.

On an average, rakes loading by coal stands at around 350 per day, of which 190 are loaded by CIL, 20 by Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), 75 by imported coal and 65 by others, he added.