Railways freight traffic shows signs of revival

In a sign of economic and construction activities coming back on track, cement traffic handled by the railways saw an 18 per cent increase so far in June compared to the same period in 2019, said a senior railways official on Monday. A similar rise was seen in fertiliser traffic too.

In April and May, the railways saw a subdued freight loading at about 70 per cent of what it was i n the same months of 2019. In June, this recovered to over 90 per cent of what it was in June 2019. From June 1 to June 21 this year, the national transporter handled 64.55 million tonne (MT) of freight, down 8 per cent from what it handled during the same period last year. On account of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, freight loading saw a dip of 57.95 MT or 28 per cent during April-may 2020.

“Cement traffic saw an increase of 18 per cent in June so far, compared to the same time last year. A similar increase was seen in fertiliser too. Other sectors that are showing signs of improvement, while coal is expected to pick up after the monsoon," said P S Mishra, member (traffic), Railway Board, while addressing a press conference on Monday.

For the April to June 21, freight traffic was seen at 212.62 MT, down 23 per cent from the same period in 201920. In June 2020, all sectors have shown significant improvement, except ironore, Mishra said. During the time of the lockdown, the focus by the railways was mainly on essential items like food grains, coal to power sector, petroleum and timetabled parcel services. The result of this effort was seen in food grains handled during the period, that saw an 83 per cent increase compared to last year. From April 1 to June 21, food grains loading was seen at 14.55 MT, up from 7.94 MT during the same period in 2019.

"For coal, the traffic is low because thermal power plants are having a sufficient coal stock of 28 days now. We expect coal loading at last year's level in the third quarter and hope to see a pick up in the fourth quarter due to higher industrial activity," Mishra added. Coal traffic, which is a major component of the railway freight, was lower by 30 per cent for the April to June 21 period of the year compared to last year.

"We are in continuous dialogue with key industries like coal, fertiliser, steel, cement, containers and other goods to improve services and have better transit time," he said. A major improvement on the railways side was the increase in average speed of freight trains by 78 per cent from a mere 23 km per hour (kmph) prior to lockdown to 41 kmph now.