Moving goods by railways continued to get expensive on an average. For October, rail transportation became costlier by an average of 6.62 per cent against the same month last year, registering the steepest hike this fiscal.
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. This is revealed in the earnings per tonne kilometre data for October complied by the Railway Ministry.
The commodity segments that bore the steepest hikes include iron ore exports (52.97 per cent), container movement (13.55 per cent), cement (13.35 per cent) and mineral oil (8.24 per cent). Even foodgrain movement by trains became more expensive by 5.45 per cent.
RAIL LOADINGS DOWN
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 commodities in which Railways recorded growth in loadings include cement, foodgrains and mineral oil.
For both September and October, however, the actual rail throughput has not yet seen a dip. But, it recorded a below one per cent level growth.
Rail throughput is measured by net tonne kilometre, a parameter that reflects rail productivity in both loadings and distance terms.
FREIGHT EARNINGS UP
Despite 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.
The dip in loadings could be an indication of the slowdown in economic growth given that rail transportation is a derived demand - unless a large segment of rail users have shifted to road transportation.