The Hindu Business Line : SCR freight loading up 9%

THE South Central Railway (SCR) has registered freight loading of 15.52 million tonnes during the April-July period against 14.24 million tonnes during the corresponding period in the previous financial year, showing a growth of 9 per cent.

The apportioned earnings of the zone stood at Rs 1,241.04 crore (Rs 1,104.83 crore), Mr Stanley Babu, General Manager of SCR, said here in a press release.

He said the Railway Ministry had allocated Rs 783.71 crore for the zone for the current financial year. Of this, Rs 256 crore would be spent on track renewals, Rs 63.01 crore on new lines and Rs 135.06 crore on doubling works.

He said the zone would spend Rs 101.91 crore on gauge conversion covering a stretch of 165 km. The Manoharabad-Nizamabad and Secunderabad-Mudkhed sections were part of the conversion plan.

The Kakinada-Kotipalli railway line covering a distance of 45 km would be opened for traffic this year.

He said the zone had improved its safety network that resulted in a decline of 22 per cent in the rate of accidents compared to last year's figures.

For the upcoming Krishna Pushkarams, the zone would run 300 special trains.