In 2011-12, South Eastern Railway (SER), the major iron-loading zonal railway, took a big hit in freight traffic, with throughput dropping to 117 million tonnes (mt) from 123.12 mt in 2010-11.
“The entire drop should be attributed to the slump in iron ore export traffic to 8.3 mt from 15.3 mt in the previous year”, according to a spokesman for SER.
“The domestic iron ore traffic remained unchanged at 54 mt or so. From a freight loading railway we've become a loading facilitator railway, observed the spokesman. He also pointed out that SER was now sending out a large number of empties (empty rakes) every day to facilitate freight loading in other zonal railways, particularly, East Coast Railway (Bhubaneswar) and South East Central Railway (Bilaspur).
The drop in iron ore traffic in 2011-12 was seven mt at 62 mt against 69 mt in 2010-11. The shortfall could not by covered by increasing the volumes of other commodities. “The increases were marginal,” said the spokesman, pointing out that coal improved to 25.76 mt (24.88 mt), finished steel to 12.43 mt (12.36 mt) and cement 7.86 mt (7.52 mt).
Traffic prospects
The spokesman did not sound hopeful about the freight traffic prospects for 2012-13 either. “The iron ore export traffic, it appears, has no future,” he said, pinning limited hope in domestic iron ore traffic.
The optimism is based on the present trend of higher loading on the Tatanagar-Badampahar-Garumahisani line, “Several sponge iron units are coming up in that area with the result the monthly loading of rakes has already jumped from seven/eight to around 30.”
The prospects of higher offtake by integrated steel plants, he explained, would depend on their production. The indication was that JSPL in Deojhar area might step up its offtake from around three rakes a day at present.
Tata Steel too held out promise in view of its projected increase in hot metal capacity from the present 6.8 mt to 10 mt. The same holds true for SAIL plants as well. “But then the production and, therefore, loading at three SAIL mines at Bolani, Gua and Chiria, totalling five rakes a day, has remained suspended for the past few weeks,” he added.