The Hindu Business Line : NCL urges Railways to upgrade facilities at Dudhichua colliery

NORTHERN Coalfields Ltd (NCL) has urged the Railways to step up facilities at its Dudhichua colliery to facilitate loading of more rakes for the upcountry powerhouses.

The senior officials of NCL on Thursday called on the Director of Rail Movement here and promised to bear the cost of creating the additional facilities.

The total annual production of NCL is about 46.5 million tonnes (mt) and nearly 80 per cent of the production is loaded and dispatched by way of merry-go-round (MGR) system, a dedicated loading and transportation system for various super thermal plants. The problem has arisen in regard to the loading of coal for powerhouses not linked to the MGR system.

About 10 mt are required to be loaded annually for upcountry powerhouses located at Obra, Panipat, Suratgarh and Delhi and these power houses are not linked to the MGR system. The coal linkage for these power plants is about 10 rakes a day. The actual loading, however, will be about seven to eight rakes a day.

As there is only a single line network, the delay occurs in the evacuation of the loaded rakes and placement of the empty rakes. The problem can be largely overcome if the existing siding could be rehabilitated for accommodating the empty rakes.

Inquiries with the Railways reveal that the work on rehabilitation will be taken up as soon as the NCL issues a letter promising to pay for it.

About Rs 11 lakh or so, it is estimated, will be required to create the facilities in the form of crossovers and strengthening of the existing network. NCL, it is learnt, has promised to issue the letter within the next few days.

NCL wants the railway facilities stepped up not only to meet the present linkages but also the projected future requirement.

It proposes to handle 15 rakes a day, at least 12 to 13 rakes, in view of the steady rise in the demand for coal from the upcountry powerhouses.

Panipat Power Plant, which has been particularly hit in the present crisis, it is learnt, would like to step up its offtake. In 2004-05, NCL targets to step up production at least by one million tonnes and with it the dispatches to power plants not linked to MGR system.

The Railway sources concede that the level of infrastructure at the NCL level leaves much to be desired.

This is because neither the Railways nor the coal authorities could foresee that the demand for coal from powerhouses not linked to MGR system would post such a big jump.

"We have taken note of the situation and will do the needful," the sources observe.