RailEnquiry

VISAKHAPATNAM: Port operators on Tuesday urged the Indian Railways to review the 'Railway logistics plan' in order to route coal through the East Coast ports instead of the existing practice of hauling the cargo via ports in the West Coast.During a trade review meeting organised by the Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT), sources said that the operators raised the issue of the flawed logistics plan due to which thermal power plants are presently being supplied coal from the West Coast, resulting in longer transportation and higher costs. They pointed out that Chhattisgarh, for instance, is expected to generate nearly 30,000 MW of power by the end of the 12th five year plan, and operating through the East Coast would be more feasible and cut costs."Most power plants need to import coal from Indonesia and the nearest port to the power plants in Chhattisgarh is Visakhapatnam port. Instead they are going all the way to Mundra port in Gujarat or Mumbai port, which means the voyage time almost doubles," a senior port operator said.Explaining, he said that if a cargo vessel takes around seven to nine days to sail from Indonesia to Vizag, the same journey to Mumbai or Mundra takes around 15 to 16 days. Again from the West Coast ports to Chhattisgarh, the rail distance is around 2,000 to 2,200 km. "When you consider that nearly 40 million tonnes of coal is needed to be transported and the extra distance costs around Rs 1200 per tonne, the figure is mind-boggling. Eventually it's the consumer who ends up paying more for the charges," he added.

With a majority of the coal being transported by rail, VPT sources said that East Coast Railway (ECoR) officials will bring the issue to the notice of the Railway Board in order to divert the cargo through the east instead of West Coast.

During the trade meeting, VPT officials, including deputy chairman GVL Satyakumar, participated and urged the ECoR officials to expedite the electrification of yards within the port and augment connectivity in order to cope up with the increase in traffic at the port due to the mechanisation of various terminals.

Meanwhile, Vizag General Cargo Berth CEO Manral D K said that fully mechanised coal handling facility will be able to handle capesize vessels by November 2013.

IRTS chief operating manager G D Brahma gave an assurance that Indian Railways would extend co-operation to enable VPT to regain the top position among major ports. He said that Indian Railways has joined the elite global club by becoming the fourth railway network to have handled one billion tonnes of cargo.