Coal news and updates

Railways to provide exclusive cargo wagons to Coal India

The Indian Railways on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Coal India Ltd (CIL) for providing cargo wagons for the exclusive use of the state-run firm.

According to the ministry of railways, the MoU will lead to the procurement of 2,000 wagons or 33 rakes in the first outgo, which will facilitate in increased evacuation of coal from CIL. Speaking on the occasion, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu said that this is "a path-breaking agreement which will result into speedy supply of wagons for coal loading in dedicated circuits".

He also informed that the initial investment of Rs 500 crore will lead to anticipated investment of Rs 5,000 crore.

Stating coal as mainstay of the Railways, the minister informed that the two-third of its revenue comes from the coal.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Prabhu, Union Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha, among others.

Railways to provide wagons to Coal India Goyal said that the MoU will help in fulfilling the one billion tonne target of Coal India. Appreciating Ministry of Coal, the minister said that there is no single power plant in the country today that falls in critical category.

"This became possible only because of the support of Ministry of Railways," he emphasised.

Under the BJP government, Coal India is targeting production of one billion tonne of coal by 2020.

Experts say that wagon availability will be a key factor for achieving this target by Coal India. "By signing of the MoU today, Railways and Coal India Ltd will be entering into a strategic partnership which would ensure adequate wagon availability for meeting the transportation needs of coal produced by Coal India Ltd. This strategic partnership between Railways and Coal India Ltd would not have been possible but for the motivation and guidance provided by the two ministers," said a senior railway official.

The MoU will benefit the economy as a whole and the Railways, the coal sector and power sector in particular. The remarkable part of this strategic partnership is that the wagons will be procured by Indian Railways on behalf of CIL.

These wagons will lead to additional loading of 8-10 tonne per wagon as compared to the conventional wagons of Indian Railways.

Source: http://www.businesstoday.in/