Cyclone Nilam, which wrought devastation on a huge scale, smashing homes and inundating coastal areas, has dealt a blow to railway freight loading and movement in large parts of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Iron ore movement along the 450-km long Kottavalasa-Kirandul (KK) line has remained suspended for the past few days due to the extensive damage caused to the rail network between Badavara and Chimidipalli stations.
The KK line network, which comes under the Waltair Division of the East Coast Railways (ECoR), is used mainly for transportation of iron ore from NMDC’s Bailadila mines in Chhattisgarh to Visakhapatnam, partly to meet the requirements of Vizag Steel Plant and other sponge iron units located in that region and partly for exports through Visakhapatnam port. All this has come to a halt.
According to ECoR sources, the cyclone lashing the undulating topography through which the line passes has not only caused landslides breaching the railway line with consequent derailment of rakes, but also accumulation of 8,000 cubic metres of mud on a section between Badavara and Srungavarapukota stations, throwing up huge problems. “We’re at our wit’s end as to how to clean it up,” the sources observe.
As a result, 35 loaded rakes — 28 for Vizag Steel Plant and another seven for exports — are stranded at various points on the route. Similarly, a number of empties are also held up at the steel plant and the port. “We’re trying our best to clear them,” the sources observe.
ECoR’s iron ore loading so far this fiscal leaves much to be desired. As it is iron ore movement on the KK line has been on a low key due to poor demand for the ore for exports, pricing issues and other problems. The natural calamity has dealt a severe blow to the already sagging traffic. In addition, there has been no loading of the ore in the Nayagarh-Banspani-Jaruli area for the past three months or so due to a variety of reasons such as Government restrictions, a slump in overseas demand for the ore and others.
Cyclone Nilam has also hit loading of domestic coal in the Talcher mines and of imported coal at ports served by ECoR. On November 1, there was industrial unrest at Talcher causing suspension of rake loading. The cyclone arrived the next day, with the result normal mining and loading operation was thrown out of gear.
Till October, ECoR handled a total traffic of 72.7 million tonnes (mt), up by about six mt over 66.24 mt handled in the same period of the previous year, but lower by 1.2 mt than the pro-rata target of 73.9 mt set for the period. Coal accounts for 55 per cent of ECoR’s total freight loading but coal loading in August and September was not-so-satisfactory due to the monsoon. It improved in October but again took a hit in November.
Yet, ECoR is hopeful of achieving the total freight traffic target of 130 mt set for the current fiscal against 120.7 mt handled in 2011-12, “Much, of course, would depend on the weather,” the sources say, adding, “our network lies mostly along the east coast vulnerable to unpredictable climatic conditions”.