Close monitoring by Railways, CIL bring record growth in coal offtake

The growth in coal dispatch to the power sector in Aug, Sept and Oct of the current fiscal has been 20%, 21% and 18%, respectively, as compared to the same period in previous fiscal

The government on Wednesday said coordinated efforts of Coal India and railways have brought remarkable growth in offtake of the fossil fuel and improved dispatch for power plants in particular.

"The synergetic efforts of CIL (Coal India) and Railways with close monitoring by the ministries of coal, railways and power have resulted in unprecedented growth in coal offtake," the coal ministry said in a statement.

The growth in coal dispatch to the power sector in August, September and October of the current fiscal has been 20 per cent, 21 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively, as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal.

"This has helped coal-based power plants in meeting the spurt in demand of festive and paddy season, despite the drop in generation from hydro, nuclear as well as imported coal-based plants," the statement said.

Coal India (CIL) and Railways, it said, are now jointly working on a strategy to increase loading target to 266 coal rakes per-day, which will further help both power and non- power sector in meeting their demands for coal.

Strengthening coal transportation and production efficiency, CIL loaded 250 rakes of goods train through Indian Railways, an all-time high achievement for November to ensure smooth fuel supply. Out of these rakes, 223 rakes were exclusively loaded for thermal power stations across the country.

"Achieving a loading of 250 rakes in a day in the month of November has set a new record. This achievement has been in spite of the continuation of sporadic rains in some of the coalfields," it said.

Normally, loading at such levels is attained from late December when the onset of favourable environment helps in ramping up coal output.

CIL is poised to contribute a load of 300 rakes through Indian Railways which includes about 35 rakes for coal beneficiation.