Railways fail to meet freight target for 2008-09

The global economic slowdown has caught up with Indian Railways which failed to meet the freight target of 850 million tonnes (MT) for the year 2008-09.

Railways managed to carry about 833 MT of freight for the year, which is about 17 MT short of its target.

"The final loading figure will be known in a couple of days. As of now, we have recorded approximately 833 MT till March 31, which is about 39 MT more than the last fiscal," said a senior Railway Ministry official.

Last year, it had exceeded its target by carrying 794 MT of freight against the target of 790 MT.

While the loading in coal, fertiliser and cement have shown a growth, there is a decline in iron ore and finished steel loadings in comparison with the loads the last year.

Railways expect to touch 369 MT of coal loading for the year 2008-09 as against 338 MT in 2007-08, registering nine per cent growth.

According to the official, despite the slowdown there is an overall growth of 4.7 per cent in loading.

Though the railways were doing well in the April-September period, loading got affected in October-December 2008, when the recession reared its head. The growth rate dipped down to 1.41 per cent.

Railways which have set the target of 900 MT in 2009-10, it may revise it keeping the slowdown in mind.