BackIndian Railways loads a record 653 million tonnes of coal in FY22. Key highlights
So far in April 2022, the Indian Railways took various steps to prioritize the loading of coal to the power sector which has led to rise in the supply of coal by more than 10 % within one week time.
PremiumIndian Railways augmented the transportation of coal through railways by a record 111 million tonnes for the financial year FY22. Railways loaded an all-time high of 653 million tonnes of coal in FY22 as compared to 542 million tonnes in the previous year - registering a growth of 20.4 %.
Notably, in the second half of FY22, the loading of coal to the power sector was augmented by 32% in just 2 quarters.
So far in April 2022, the Indian Railways took various steps to prioritize the loading of coal to the power sector which has led to rise in the supply of coal by more than 10 % within one week time.
These measures as per the Railways Ministry statement are:
1. The movement of Coal trains has been prioritized and each train is being intensively monitored during the entire cycle from Loading to movement and finally unloading.
2. Through this prioritization and monitoring the Transit time of coal trains to long-distance Power has been reduced significantly by 12-36% for critical power plants.
3. Indian railways have prioritized the movement of coal to long-distance power houses as well which is reflected in the fact that the average lead of coal trains has increased by 7 % in the last 5 days as compared to the average leads of 1st to 10th April.
4. Despite this increase in the average lead of coal trains the time taken between two successive loading of the same rake for these stocks has been reduced by 10%.
5. With these operational innovations Indian Railways has augmented the supply of coal trains to power houses as well as has loaded more coal rakes on a sustained basis.
As per the ministry, Indian Railways is fully Geared up and has mobilized all resources to ensure that a sustained high level of Coal supply is maintained to power houses and is committed to lifting all domestic coal that is brought to the sidings /good sheds by the Coal companies and imported coal brought to the ports by the power generating companies.
However, in another development today, a Reuters report stated that government-owned National Aluminium Co Ltd (NALCO) is facing a coal supply shortfall, due to supplies being diverted to priority electricity generation and a shortage of trains to deliver fuel to NALCO's power plants.
The report stated that supplies by state-run Coal India under a long-term supply deal fell short of the contracted quantity by 17% in FY22 for NALCO, while shortfalls were more than 75% under another related deal.
A senior official told Reuters that daily supplies to NALCO were falling short of requirement by at least 5,000 tonnes due to the train shortage, adding that the company had coal inventories that would last only four days.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
