CAG raps railways for loss of Rs 314 cr on parcel cargo

Southern Railway failed to ensure availability of operational arrangements for running of parcel cargo express trains with fixed path and time schedules, it said

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found that railways suffered loss to the tune of over Rs 314 crore due to under-utilisation of parcel cargo express trains (PCET) and blamed the Railway Board for the lack of coordination and non-enforcement of the scheme.

The railways authorities had in February 2007 decided to attract piecemeal parcel traffic by providing value-added door-to-door services through private operators and evolved a policy for leasing out of parcel cargo express trains.

The CAG, in its latest report, observed that Southern Railway failed to ensure the availability of satisfactory operational arrangements for running of parcel cargo express trains with fixed path and time schedules.

This adversely impacted the revenue earnings to the tune of Rs 314.64 crore on four routes due to non-commencement of PCET, it noted.

Review of records at Railway Board by the CAG revealed that operational constraints encountered by Southern Railway were also not communicated to the Board for their solution. "This resulted in failure of the scheme in Southern Railway," the national auditor noted.

"It is evident that the Southern Railway administration could not coordinate with other zonal railways for removal of operational constraints encountered in running of PCETs and thus failed to solve the issues either through coordination with zonal railways or through intervention of higher authorities," the CAG observed.