Eastern Railway records growth of 2.97% in total freight loading

Kolkata: Eastern Railway's total freight loading for the year 2017-18 has been 62.12 MT, which is almost 1.8 MT higher than that of the last year, registering a growth of 2.97 percent.

"Coal loading during this financial year has also registered a growth of 6.74 percent. Till March 31, 2018 , 6640 wagons were loaded over Eastern Railway jurisdiction, which is the highest ever loading o­n a single day since bifurcation of this Zone," said Harindra Rao, General Manager, Eastern Railway on Friday at an interactive session on 'Eastern Railway – The Way Forward' organised by MCCI.

According to Rao, Eastern Railway serves three states namely Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar with four divisions having a route 2,686 km, of which 1,900 km are in West Bengal.

Presently, Eastern Railway is running 1,976 trains per day up and down, carrying 33 lakh passengers daily. It may be mentioned that coal is the major item carried by the Eastern Railway, which contributes 60 percent

of the total freight.

"This year, 71 MT of freight has been targeted besides coal, stone chips, steel and cement are the major goods carried by the Eastern Railway," Rao added. ER has recently introduced 'Umbrella' system that helps to carry out the day-to-day business in a more systematic manner.

Responding to a query from MCCI president Ramesh Agarwal, who enquired about the passengers amenities/services, station management, quality of food supplied in the catering services and eliminating all un-manned level crossings, Rao said that ER has spent Rs 2692.95 crore in 2017-18 and it's budget has been stepped up to Rs 3574.8

crore in 2018-19. Out of 2,686 kilometers route length 1,746 kilometers have been electrified and remaining will be done in phases.