| The railway ministry has achieved 54.15 per cent of its freight earnings target of Rs 46,943 crore for 2007-08 in the first seven months of the current fiscal.
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| And with the busy season (October to April) starting favourably, experts say it is well on track of achieving the annual target.
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| During April-October 2007, the ministry generated revenue of Rs 25,423 crore from freight traffic, an increase of 11.05 per cent over Rs 22,894 crore it earned during the same period last year.
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| The growth in freight loading was 8.02 per cent over the corresponding period last year. In April-October 2007, it carried 435 million tonnes of freight, up from 403 million tonnes during the corresponding period last year. The fiscal target is 785 million tonnes.
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| The reason for the confidence, ministry officials say, is the end of the monsoon period and the start of the peak season. Also, from October 1, the freight charges have been hiked through various surcharges (busy season and congestion).
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| The freight earnings in October 2007 were Rs 3,976 crore, compared with Rs 3,356 crore during the corresponding period last year, an increase of 18.46 per cent.
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| The railways carried 66.05 million tonnes of freight traffic in October this year, compared with 58.76 million tonnes during the corresponding period previous year, an increase of 12.41 per cent.
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| Sources said loading during the April to August period was affected by the monsoons, which hit coal and iron ore belts the most. This led to the railways falling short of their freight loading target for the period by 3 per cent.
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| The ministry had set a target of carrying 320 million tonnes traffic during this period but could carry only 308.8 million tonnes.
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| The railways registered a relatively low growth of 6.95 per cent in freight traffic during April-August 2007 over the corresponding period last year. The freight traffic growth during April-August 2007 was 308.88 million tonnes, whereas it was 288.8 million tonnes during the same period last year.
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| During April-August 2006, the railways registered 9.8 per cent growth over the freight traffic of April-August 2005.
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| Now, with the change in climate and increase in freight rates, the ministry officials seem confident of achieving the revenue as well as freight loading targets for the fiscal. |
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