With the 2,843 km freight corridor network complete, Indian Railways loaded 137.9 million tonnes in August, up 5.4 per cent on a year earlier.
India’s dedicated freight corridors are now complete, with the 2,843 km network fully commissioned in September: 1,506 km on the Western corridor from Dadri to JNPT and 1,337 km on the Eastern corridor from Ludhiana to Sonnagar. About 443 trains run on the network each day, designed for speeds of 65 to 70 kmph against about 25 kmph on conventional freight routes.
Rail freight is picking up as the network opens. Indian Railways loaded 137.9 million tonnes in August, up 5.4 per cent on a year earlier, with clinker up 10.4 per cent and domestic containers up 9.2 per cent. Business Standard reports that growth this year rose from 1.3 per cent in May to 4 per cent in June and 9 per cent in July.
Pricing has also changed. Coal rates under the merry-go-round policy were cut 5 per cent from 1 May, and a freight rebate scheme was widened from 10 April for traffic in the empty-flow direction. Railways have also commissioned 149 Gati Shakti cargo terminals, five of them in August, as they work toward the National Rail Plan’s goal of a 45 per cent share of freight.
