Coal news and updates

CIL can run its own rail network: Sahay

June 26: Amid reports that the Union government is considering allowing Coal India Ltd (CIL) to create its own railway network, a top official of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) has said that that CIL would find no problem creating and maintaining such a network.

“There is no issue. Ultimately we are funding it and they (Railways) are contracting out to some contractors and contractors are doing it. And they are facing the same problem of land and clearances. We can always do it. We can contract out, get the land the way Railways is doing,” Sahay told ICMW.

However, in such cases, the ownership of the network should be bestowed to CIL, he said.

“Whether they build up, or we build up, the basic question is whether – just as we talk of ‘win-win’ private participation in mining – can we think of having private railways? Why is it not possible? This is not a question of parallel network,” he added.