Date:11/02/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/02/11/stories/2006021101830700.htm

Back Railways set to exceed 280 mt coal traffic target

Our Bureau

Kolkata , Feb. 10

INDIAN Railways will exceed the targeted coal traffic of 280 million tonnes (mt) in the current fiscal, according to Mr A.K. Maitra, Executive Director, Rail Movement, Rail Board.

Addressing a seminar on coal organised by Coaljunction here, Mr Maitra said the Railways was geared to meet the targeted traffic of 403 mt by 2011-12 and 516 mt by 2016-17. This would be possible because of the various measures initiated to improve line capacity, augment the rolling stock and step up the general efficiency.

He, however, made it clear that the consumers too would be required to play an important role, particularly at the loading and unloading points, to make the Railways' bid to offer good services them a success.

Mr S.K. Mohapatra, CEO of Dhamra Port Ltd, the joint venture of Tata Steel and L&T, indicated that while the port was being created mainly to handle, at least initially, dry bulk traffic such as coal and iron ore and clean cargo such as finished steel, moves were afoot to create facilities also to handle containers and liquid bulk.

"We hope to firm up tie-up with partners for the proposed container handling terminals before the first phase work is complete", Mr Mohapatra said.

The cost of transport was the single most important factor in the landed cost and the transportation cost in turn was determined by draft availability again determining the types of vessels to be handled, level of mechanisation and connectivity, he added.

Mr Subrat Tripathy, Deputy Chairman of Paradip Port Trust, drew attention to the gross underutilisation of the mechanised coal handling facility at the port due to dearth of thermal coal traffic.

The facility, which was geared to handle more than 20 mt of coal, was now handling only around 8 mt.

Paradip, he emphasised, was all set to become major bulk handling port in due course as several measures had been initiated to improve the draft so that Capesize vessels could be handled there and upgrade the connectivity both by rail and road.

Mr M.K. Palanivel, Senior Vice-President, Samsara Group, wondered if the proposed $9 billion worth of investments by the private sector in port shipping sectors, as envisaged in the National Maritime Development Programme, would really materialise unless the private sector investors were convinced of the returns.