Lok Sabha Question No. 2543 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-04
Subject: Transportation of Coal
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Feroze Varun Gandhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2543 TO BE ANSWERED ON 04.08.2021

## TRANSPORTATION OF COAL

## 2543. SHRI FEROZE VARUN GANDHI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there is adequate availability of logistic support for transportation of coal through the Indian Railways;
- (b) whether Railway projects get delayed due to various constraints and whether the Government is taking alternative steps to ensure speedy execution of projects and logistical connectivity;
- (c) if  so,  whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  facilitate  coal  mining with  support  for  offtake  routes  for  bulk  transportation  over  long distances; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  :  Indian  Railways are having adequate number of open wagons and rakes for transportation of coal.

Indian Railways (IR) loaded average 24,586 coal wagons per day in June 2021.   As  on  30.06.2021,  IR  had  1.6  lakh  open  wagons  which  is considered adequate for present level of coal loading.  Besides, IR has system of regular enhancement of wagon fleet for coal loading.

(b) : Completion of a Railway project(s) depends on various factors like expeditious land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials  of  forest  department,  shifting  of  infringing  utilities,  statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project site, number of working months in a year for particular  project  site  due  to climatic conditions etc, and all these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project(s), which is finally worked out at the completion stage.    Nevertheless,  every  effort  is  being  made  to  execute  the project(s) expeditiously.

Various  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  for  effective  and speedy  implementation  of  rail  projects  include  (i)  prioritisation of projects  (ii)  substantial  increase  in  allocation  of  funds  on  priority projects (iii) delegation of powers at field level (iv) close monitoring of progress of project at various levels, and (v) regular follow up with State Governments and concerned authorities for expeditious land acquisition,  forestry  and  Wildlife  clearances  and  for  resolving  other issues pertaining to projects.

(c) & (d) : Ministry of Railways has taken up implementation of several coal connectivity projects including those under Participative Policy of

Ministry  of  Railways,  which  are  being  executed  by  Joint  Venture Companies formed by respective coal companies for evacuation of coal from important coalfields. Fourteen coal projects have been identified in consultation  with  Ministry  of  Coal  for  coal  evacuation.    Monitoring  of these projects is being done at the level of Secretary(Coal) along with Chairman  &  Chief  Executive  Officer,    Railway  Board.    Besides  this, Indian  Railways  has  prepared  'Visions-2024'  document  under  which projects have been prioritized and categorized into 'Super-critical' and 'Critical'  categories.    This  also  includes  coal  projects  which  are  in different stages of execution. Besides, Ministry of Railways is also implementing Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) (1875 kms) from Ludhiana in Punjab to Dankuni  in  West  Bengal,  which  will  mainly  cater  to  Coal  and  mineral traffic from Eastern India.  DFC has been designed for running of heavier trains of 25 tonne axle load. Maximum moving dimensions on DFC will be  more  liberal  and  comparable  to  world  standards  in  order  to  permit heavier and longer trains. With  all  the  above  measures,  the  coal  carrying  capacity  of  Indian Railways will get ramped up rapidly, and Indian Railways would be able to offer higher transport output with faster transit time.

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