The Hindu Business Line : East Coast Rly’s iron ore traffic set to scale new peak

In 2006-07, ECoR handled an estimated 42 million tonnes of coal, representing around 50 per cent of the total traffic of about 84 million tonnes. The total traffic target for 2007-08 has been set at 93 mt, of which the share of coal, it is estimated, will be about 47 mt or percentage-wise, the same as last year.

Rise likely

Side by side, the iron ore throughput is poised for a big jump. In 2006-07, the ECoR handled a total of about 11 mt of iron ore comprising 7.3 mt for exports and another about three mt for domestic plants. This year, the throughput is estimated to rise to 16 to 17 mt comprising 12 mt of exports and another four to five mt of domestic movement. This is despite the not-so-satisfactory record of movement so far on the 450-km long Kirandul-Kottavalasa line used for transportation of ore from Bailadila mines to Visakhapatnam.

Coal traffic in H1

ECoR’s coal movement received a setback in the first half of the year. The coal loading took a big hit in Talcher mines, the biggest coal loading point of ECoR, due to a variety of reasons. Fortunately, the situation at Talcher has improved now and the daily loading at present is of the order of 25 rakes a day, which is close to capacity. The coal stock at the railheads is estimated at more than two lakh tonnes, equivalent of three days loading.

However, the level of loading of imported coal at the ports is not-too-satisfactory. At the Visakhapatnam port, coal import for Khaparkeda thermal plant of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board has dropped significantly. “Last year, we handled 20 rakes a month on an average; the average so far this has dropped to 10 rakes; worse, there has been no loading at all in the first three weeks of December”, observe ECoR sources.

Loading level

However, the daily loading for the Bhilai Steel Plant and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant remains unchanged at four rakes each.

At Paradip, cargo inducement is adequate – enough to load about eight to 10 rakes a day. But the problem of ECoR is that it cannot ensure a steady supply of that many rakes to the port for loading imported coal. The reason: the rakes carrying iron ore to the port for exports are generally used for back-loading of imported coal. The port, as ECoR sources point out, cannot handle more than seven iron ore rakes a day, with the result only that many rakes can be made available for back-loading.

More Stories on : Railways | Minerals | Steel

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Search on for AI’s next Chairman

IRFC borrowing cost goes up to 9.5%

East Coast Rly’s iron ore traffic set to scale new peak