SR generates Rs 922 cr freight earning for Q1; surpasses RB target

CHENNAI: Southern Railway has surpassed its originating freight earning target for the first quarter of the 2022-23 fiscal by generating Rs 922 crore. The zone has mopped up the revenue by transporting 9.98 million tons (MT) of commodities from here in the first quarter of the financial year.

The earning, which is 36% more than the corresponding quarter (April - June) in the last fiscal, has overshot the target set by the railway board (RB) by 21%. The growth in freight loading has been fuelled by incremental loading of coal (0.83 MT), followed by petroleum, oil & lubricants (0.42 MT), Cement and clinker (0.35 MT), Food grains (0.39 MT) and other goods (0.63 MT), a release issued by SR in this regard said.

The loading of coal to power houses (both domestic and imported) has increased by more than 0.46 MT in April-June with a growth of 18%, as against corresponding quarter in the last financial year. With these sustained efforts, the trend of reducing coal stocks at power houses has been reversed and the coal stocks at the power houses have again started improving on a regular basis.

The efforts of business development units have helped the zone diversify into transport of newer commodities like Carbon Black Feedstock in oil tank wagons, Rock Phosphate in covered wagons, Cement in container wagons, Sugar, Limestone, Laterite, Gypsum to Cement Plants, Motor Tractors in NMG wagons and construction materials like Boulders, Stones (Quartz), which alone fetched Rs.33.75 crore during April- June 2022.

The freight loading in the month of June 2022 has been 3.114 MT, as against 2.032 MT achieved in 2021-22, registering 53% growth.