India’s coal movement by rake up 5% m-o-m in Dec’22

India’s coal rake movement continued to rise for the third consecutive month in December 2022. This rise is in line with the increase in coal production in the country.

In December 2022, India’s total coal rake (domestic plus imported coal) movement stood at 15,730 units, which translates into dispatch of 61.34 million tonnes (mnt) of coal, as each rake transported by Indian Railways carries approximately 3,900 tonnes.

Notably, total coal rake movement has increased by 5% in December 2022 as compared to November 2022. Meanwhile, in comparison to the same period last year, the growth is 4%.

India’s domestic coal rake movement in December 2022 increased by 7% m-o-m to 13,364 units. Meanwhile, y-o-y witnessed an increase of 2%.

The monthly rise in domestic coal rake movement was the result of an increase in domestic coal production and dispatches. India’s coal production in December, 2022 stood at 82.9 mnt, a m-o-m growth of around 9%. Meanwhile, coal dispatches in December, 2022 stood at 78.9 mnt, an increase of 6% m-o-m.

Imported coal rake traffic continue to fall

Imported coal rake movement has fallen for the fifth consecutive month in December. This is the result of an increased availability of domestic coal and a relative fall in imported coal consumption. In December 2022, imported coal rake movement fall by 4% m-o-m to 2,366 units.

However, imported coal rake movement in December 2022 was still 22% higher than the year-ago period.

Zone-wise rake movement

• East Central Railway (ECR) dispatched the highest 3,668 rakes in December 2022, followed by South East Central Railway (SECR) 3,458 rakes.  Notably, both ECR and SECR have only transported domestic coal.

• With the exception of the East Coast Railway, all of the key zones had seen a monthly increase in total coal rake movement in December, 2022.

• Domestic coal traffic has risen in almost all the railway zones in December 2022 as compared to the month prior.
• East Coast Railway dispatched highest imported coal with 1,298 rakes, a marginal drop of 1% m-o-m.
• Except for the Southern Railway, all other railway zones that have handled imported coal rake movement, have seen a dip in December as compared to November 2022. Southern Railway’s imported coal movement increased by 21% during the same period.