The Indian Railways recorded a
dip in loadings for the second consecutive month in October. It moved 77.68
million tonnes of cargo in October, a drop of 1.27 per cent against 78.68 mt in
the same period last fiscal.
During the period, the loadings
have been lower for various commodities including coal for steel plants, pig
iron and finished steel, iron ore for domestic containers. The dip in loadings
could be an indication of the slowdown in economic growth.
However, despite of lower
loadings, rail freight earnings have gone up by 7.5 per cent due to hike in
freight charges and the Railways hauling goods for longer distances. The rail
freight earnings were Rs 5,590.62 crore in October.
The freight loading figures for
October are marginally better than September, when the Railways recorded a dip
of 1.82 per cent year-on-year.
Simply put, to move one tonne
cargo over a distance of one kilometre, freight customers have had to pay
Railways an average of 6.62 per cent higher amount in October.
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