Coal news and updates

South Central Rly’s H1 freight loading flat on dip in coal traffic

The South Central Railwayposted a flat growth in freight loadings in the first half of the current fiscal due tofall in coal traffic.

The total originating freight during this period was 52.1 million tonnes, almost on par with that of the previous year.

The zone loaded 27.6 mt of coal in these six months, as compared with 29.4 mt in the same period last year, as output from Singareni Collieries dipped due to the Telangana agitation. Coal accounts for nearly 53 per cent of its total freight loadings. However, there was a slight increase in other cargoes — cement loading was 13.65 mt, foodgrains 3.3 mt and fertilisers 2.6 mt, about 10 per cent more than last year.

The zone’s freight earnings were boosted by increased traffic from the Krishnapatnam and Kakinada ports, which had a rail freight loading of 7.1 mt (5.8 mt) and 3.1 mt (2.5 mt) respectively.

The gross originating freight earnings of SC Railway registered a marginal growth of 1.4 per cent at Rs 3,430 crorecompared with Rs 3,395 crore in the first six months of the last fiscal.

Last fiscal, it had achieved an eight per cent increase in freight loading due to increased movement of coal and fertilisers. It handled 111.5 mt of cargo during the year, as against 103.2 mt in the previous year.

The zone carried 197.1 million passengers, compared with 193 million in the corresponding period of the last fiscal. Passenger earnings reflected a growth of 20 per cent at Rs 1,286 crorecompared with Rs 1,070 crore last fiscal.
 
Source: The Hindu Business line