Increased freight traffic brings cheer to Railways

After the turnaround, the railways has something more to celebrate. For the first time in 60 years, the share of rail loading of all the major commodities has shown an increase, boosted partly by a Supreme Court order that cracked down on overloading of trucks.

The figures for loading of coal, cement, fertilisers and finished steel have shown an across-the-board increase. Officials say the growth in freight traffic is also a result of the booming economy and the railways' expanding capacity.

The Supreme Court had directed states to stop the "golden pass" system under which overladen trucks were allowed to pass through on payment of a special fee.

"Since the ban on the golden pass system, many of the major customers who used trucks to transport their goods, have become uneasy and have now turned to the railways as we provide a much more stable system of cargo transportation," said the official.

The indicator for major commodities moved by the railways "" coal, cement, fertiliser and finished steel "" has increased.

The rail coefficient (share of a commodity carried by rail) for coal increased from 71.94 per cent to 73.28 per cent over 2004-05, while cement grew from 40.87 per cent to 41.34 per cent. Similarly, loading of fertilisers has marginally improved from 74.32 to 74.34 per cent. Finished steel, too, has moved up from 35.28 to 36.86 per cent.

The Rail Bhavan is pleased with the developments and officials say the situation is a far cry from the days of the Rakesh Mohan Committee, which, in its report, noted that the loading of commodities like cement and iron ore was falling drastically.