Coal India arm SECL's supplies to go up post 44-km new rail line

Domestic giant Coal India on Thursday said that dry-fuel supplies by its largest producing arm South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) will go up following operationalisation of a new 44-km railway line in Chhattisgarh.

The 44-km line from Kharsia to Korichapar is part of the East Rail Corridor, being developed by Chhattisgarh East Railway Ltd (CERL), a special purpose vehicle (SPV) formed by the government of Chhattisgarh, IRCON International Ltd and SECL.

SECL is expected to play a lead role in Coal India's 1 billion tonne coal production target by 2025-26 with a contribution of around 26 per cent at 262 million tonnes (MT).

"A 44 km long new railway line in Chhattisgarh under East Rail Corridor from Kharsia to Korichapar turned operational on October 12 which enables evacuation of coal from Mand-Raigarh and Korba coalfields of SECL, Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a statement.

East Rail Corridor is being developed by CERL with a war chest of Rs 3,055 crore for laying down a 136-km rail line from Kharsia - Korichapar - Dharamjaygarh - Korba, it said.

While SECL holds a stake of 64 per cent in this tripartite SPV, Chhattisgarh government and IRCON hold 10 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.

A Coal India official said SECL has started loading two rakes of coal per day from Bijari, Baroud and Jampali mines of Mand-Raigarph which will increase further to five to six rakes per day, pushing up coal supplies to power stations of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The addition of more loading points in the line will take loading to higher levels.

The statement said with Kharsia-Korichapar line opening up, Mand-Raigarh coalfields of SECL endowed with large coal resources will have an evacuation outlet for transportation of coal.

"The availability of transportation facility further unlocks the production potential of these coalfields for supply of coal to power houses. As the work progresses and infrastructure is developed we shall start loading more coal," the official said.

The statement said: "The next leg of the 30 Km line between Korichapar and Dharamjaygarh is likely to come up by middle of 2020. Later, with Dharamjaygarh finally getting connected to Korba - a stretch of 62 Kms - CERL will see its conclusion of 136 Km rail line."