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Coal India to invest Rs 5000 crore to procure railway wagons

Coal India will invest Rs 5,000 crore in the Railways to procure wagons for speedy transportation of coal.

"We will sign an MoU with Coal India which has agreed to invest Rs 5000 crore for wagon procurement," Railway Board Member (Traffic) Ajay Shukla said.

Railways is currently facing a shortage of wagons for carrying coal, causing strain on its ambitious target of transporting 1.18 billion tonnes of freight this year.

Coal transportation is a major source of freight earning as its accounts for 47 per cent of total goods earning.

The investment will ensure a guaranteed supply of wagons for early coal evacuation from Odisha and Chhattisgarh, the official said.

On the ongoing Gujjar agitation, Shukla said it has affected the rail traffic badly, causing huge losses.

"We are losing about Rs four crore per day for cancellation and diversion of trains. But on freight, the loss is of Rs 25 crore per day as goods trains run daily," he said.

According to Shukla, the agitation has led to cancellation of over 300 passenger trains till date.

source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com