The country’s biggest mining companies are reeling under a scarcity of rail rakes (wagons). The problem is more immediate than even the fight with the Ministry of Environment and Forests over access to vital mining areas.
Over the past seven-eight years, according to senior Coal India Ltd officials, stockpiles of the company have increased from 23 million tonnes (mt) to 63 mt in 2009-10. This is expected to increase further during the current financial year.
“In these few years, the stockpile has almost tripled. So, we may have to curtail our production and instead concentrate on OB (overburden) removal to expose coal benches. That way, we can hike production at quick notice,” a senior CIL official explained.
The company's coal production and offtake, as a result, have taken a backseat, while overburden removal has grown substantially. In April-September this year, compared to the corresponding period last year, coal production has only risen by 0.7 per cent, even as overburden removal in the same period gew by 11.7 per cent.
“Unless we are able to deal with the logistics problem on a war-footing, further growth is going to be difficult. We are already transporting coal by road for 60-70 km to the nearest rail head. But there is also a constraint with (railway) wagons because there is a shortfall on a consistent basis,” the official added.
CIL's daily requirement is 185 rakes (an entire goods train, minus the engines, is termed a rake), while the Railways are only able to provide about 170 rakes, on an average. “Road transportation has reached a saturation point and, in any case, it is a short-term measure. We need more rakes, and have even told the Railways that we are willing to give our funds for wagon procurement. There isn't much more that we can do. It should be taken up at the ministerial level,” said a senior CIL official involved in mining planning.
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More so, since approximately 60 per cent of the future growth in production for CIL will come from five major coal fields — IB valley, Talcher, North Karanpura, Raj Mahal and Korba — where the logistics infrastructure is already stretched.
The country’s largest iron ore producer, NMDC, could produce 30 mt yearly, but the relevant rail line is a single one. NMDC produces around 22 mt at present. A pipeline blast recently in a Naxal attack affected evacuation of six million tonnes.
For pig iron producer, Tata Metaliks, it’s worse. “We would use the Paradip port (in Orissa) for our Kharagpur plant (in Bengal) , but the waiting period for rakes at Paradip is six to eight weeks. More, if there is a plant shutdown, then the rake requirements fall, but after operations are normalised, it’s difficult to get the same number of rakes. Clearly, there is rationing of rakes,” said Tata Metaliks’ managing director, Harsh K Jha.
NMDC has proposed doubling of the rail line concerned, which will entail an investment of about Rs 800 crore. “We will also invest, we have told Railways,” an NMDC official said.
For NMDC, it would be imperative, given that it’s eyeing 45 mt production by 2014-15. The public sector miner would also lay a pipeline along the National Highway, which would help evacuate 8-10 mt and cost another Rs 800-900 crore.
Tata Metaliks now uses the Gangavaram Port in Andhra, near Vizag), not Paradip, for the Kharagpur plant. “It means an additional distance of 400 km and Rs 250-300 per tonne of additional freight. We will not be surprised if we have to move to Kandla (in Gujarat),” Jha explained.
If only the minister flagged off some additional rakes for the industry instead of the new passenger trains every other weekend, Jha said wistfully.