Despite the COVID challenges, the freight figures for the month of May 2021 for Indian Railways in terms of earnings and loading are maintaining high momentum.

In mission mode, the freight movement of Indian Railways was highest in the month of May.

The freight traffic in May 2021 was 114.8 MT which is 9.7 percent higher than the freight traffic of the corresponding period of May 2019 (104.6 MT).

During May 2021, the critical items transported include 54.52 million tonnes of coal, 15.12 million tonnes of iron ore, 5.61 million tonnes of food grains, 3.68 million tonnes of fertilizers, 3.18 million tonnes of mineral oil, 5.36 million tonnes of cement (excluding metal sediments) and 4.2 million tonnes of fertilizers. Tons of metal sediments are included.

In the month of May 2021, Indian Railways earned Rs.11604.94 crores from freight.

This month saw an improvement of 26 percent in the wagon turnaround period. The wagon turnaround time in May 2021 was 4.81 days as against 6.46 days in May 2019.

It is worth noting that a number of concessions/rebates are being given in Indian Railways to make freight movement attractive by rail.

In addition, the speed of goods trains in the existing network has also been increased.

Increasing the speed of freight trains leads to cost reduction for all stakeholders. Freight movement has doubled in the last 18 months.

Some divisions (about 4 divisions) have recorded the speed of goods trains in excess of 50 kmph. Due to geographical conditions, some sections are giving good speed to goods trains. The average speed of goods trains in May 2021 is 45.6 kmph which is 26 percent higher than the speed of 36.19 kmph for the same period.

Indian Railways has used COVID-19 as an opportunity to bring about all-around improvement in efficiency and performance.

News Source: FinancialExpress