Lok Sabha Question No. 4637 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-29
Subject: Share of Railways in Freight
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Vinayak Bhaurao Raut, Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4637 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.03.2023

SHARE OF RAILWAYS IN FREIGHT

†4637. SHRI VINAYAK RAUT: SHRI SANJAY JADHAV:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the share of Railways in freight during the last five years and the current year;
- (b)  whether  the  Government has conducted/approved any study to find out the reasons behind the lesser share of Railways in freight in comparison with roads;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  steps  to  provide  distancebased concession to the exporters located away from ports and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (e)  whether  the  Government  has  fixed  any  time  limit  for  the operationalisation of all segments of the Dedicated Freight Corridors?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  4637  BY  SHRI  VINAYAK  RAUT  AND SHRI  SANJAY  JADHAV  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON 29.03.2023 REGARDING SHARE OF RAILWAYS IN FREIGHT

- (a)  Regular  compilation  of  rail  and  road  share  in  total  freight movement is not done. On a previous occasion, it was compiled as part  of  preparation  of  the  National  Rail  Plan  and  accordingly,  the modal share of Railways in freight was 27-28% in FY 2018-19.

Details of freight loading during the last five years are as under.

|    Year | Loading (in Million Tonnes) (excluding KRCL)   | Growth Rate   |
|---------|------------------------------------------------|---------------|
| 1159.55 |                                                | 2017-18       |
| 1221.48 | 5.34%                                          | 2018-19       |
| 1208.41 | -1%                                            | 2019-20       |
| 1230.94 | 1.86%                                          | 2020-21       |
| 1415.87 | 15%                                            | 2021-22       |

- (b) & (c) National Rail Plan study conducted in 2019 dwelled much deeper  into  underlying  reasons  behind  lesser  modal  share  and enabling modal shift strategies therein. The draft report for national rail  plan  was  shared  in  public  domain  and  can  be  accessed  at https://indianrailways.gov.in/NRP%20Draft%20Final%20Report%20wi th%20annexures.pdf.
- (d) Indian  Railway  provides  distance  based  concession  to  all customers  under  distance  based  graded  concession  to  Salt  and Short lead traffic as under:

| Distance Slab (in km)   | Freight Concession   |
|-------------------------|----------------------|
| 0-50                    | 50%                  |
| 51-75                   | 25%                  |
| 76-90                   | 10%                  |
| 91-100                  | Nil                  |

The graded concession to ordinary variety of non-refined salt meant for human consumption is being granted.  This is also applicable to non-refined  iodised  salt  and  non-refined  salt  meant  for  iodisation. Details of concession are as under:

| Distance (in km)   | Concession on Normal Freight Rate   | Minimum Freight                                          |
|--------------------|-------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
| 1-1000             | Nil                                 | As applicable                                            |
| 1001- 1500         | 10%                                 | Not less than freight for distance 1000 kms              |
| 1501- 2000         | 15%                                 | Not less than concessional freight for distance 1500 kms |
| 2001- 3000         | 20%                                 | Not less than concessional freight for distance 2000 kms |
| 3001 & above       | 25%                                 | Not less than concessional freight for distance 3000 kms |

- (e)  The  Ministry  of  Railways  has  taken  up  construction  of  two Dedicated  Freight  Corridors  (DFC)  viz.  Eastern  Dedicated  Freight Corridor  (EDFC)  from  Ludhiana  to  Sonnagar  (1337  Km)  and  the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Terminal (JNPT) to Dadri (1506 Kms.). So far, 1749 km out of the total sanctioned length of 2843 km of DFC has been completed. In  the  balance  portion,  work  has  been  taken  up  expeditiously  and targeted to be completed by 2024.

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