Coal news and updates

Jharsuguda-Barpalli link to be operational from July

The first phase of the Jharsuguda-Barpalli railway line for evacuation of coal from the mines of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) will be ready for use by July this year, Secretary (Coal) Anil Swarup said.

“There were three major railway lines that were under consideration. I don’t know for how many years they had been pending but the good news is one such railway line – Jharsuguda –Barpalli -will be ready for use by July this year,” Swarup said in Kolkata.

He was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the 6^th Asian Mining Congress organised by the Mining, Geological and Metallurgical Institute of India (MGMI).

The first phase involves single line, which was earlier targeted for completion in June 2016.

The other two lines – Tori-Shivpuri and Gevra-Pendra – will be ready by December 2017, he said.

Once these three lines are ready and at their peak level they can evacuate anywhere between 150-200 million tons of coal annually, Swarup said.