The Hindu Business Line : Railway Board plans to hike freight loading target

THE Railway Board is mulling an upward revision of the overall freight loading target for the current year (2004-05), thanks to the rising trend in revenue-earning freight loading so far.

The overall target, according to informed sources, might be revised to 600 million tonnes against the earlier 590 mt.

In first seven months of the current year, the revenue earning freight traffic at 336.20 mt showed a growth of eight per cent over 311.29 mt in the same period last year.

Correspondingly, the zonal railways, particularly those strong in freight loading, too are being advised to explore the possibility of revising upwards their respective freight loading targets, it is learnt.

Inquiries reveal that the South Eastern Railway (SER), a major freight loading zonal railway, may be required to set the freight target for the year at 72.5 mt against 71 mt.

SER sources are hopeful of hitting the revised target despite a slight shortfall from the targeted throughput in first half of the current fiscal.

The SER's freight loading at 40.54 mt in the first half was short of the target by 0.57 mt.

The SER's optimism is based on several factors. The iron ore, which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the total freight traffic of SER, posted good growth in loading so far in the current year. Thus, till October, the iron ore loading for exports at 4.1 mt showed 44 per cent improvement over the target.

The loading for domestic movement (other than integrated steel plants) at 8.1 mt showed five per cent growth.

Also, several steps earlier taken such as better terminal management to cut down delays in loading and unloading of wagons and enhancement of the speed of the trains will be pushed hard to achieve the revised target.

Between 1993-94 and 2002-03, the wagon turnaround improved by more than 33 per cent, average speed of goods trains by 6.37 per cent, actual loading per trains (in tonnes) by more than 16 per cent and loading of four-wheelers by 50 per cent.

The biggest constraint facing SER is the limited capacity of the network, both in terms of line capacity and wagon holding and the number of locomotives. For example, between 1993-94 and 2002-03, the wagon holding improved by a meagre 0.48 per cent.

Also, the cutback in production in integrated steel plants as a sequel to non-availability of imported coking coal hit the SER's traffic throughput, not only of coking coal but also of iron ore and other raw materials.

According to one estimate, there was a nine per cent drop in throughput during the period.