SW Railway registers 5% rise in cargo volume

South Western Railway (SWR) has ferried 5 per cent more freight cargo in 2016-17.

“Stiff freight loading targets set by Railway Board has been met by South Western Railway (SWR) during the FY 2016-17. We have loaded 44.2 million tonnes (mt),” said Ashok Kumar Gupta, General Manager, South Western Railway.This is the best ever originating freight loading during the last 10 years and second best loading in the history of SWR since its inception,” he added.

Commodities The major commodities that contributed to the record are iron ore 14.5 mt (33 per cent), coal 12.6 mt (28.5 per cent) and iron & steel 9 mt (20 per cent).

SWR’s freight basket also constitutes cement, petroleum products, container, fertilizer, food grains and other goods such as sugar, onion, automobiles, granite, granulated slag.

“SWR for the FY earned ₹3,513 crore. Hubli Division has become a major freight loading division of SWR and ranks seventh on Indian Railways during the current year with 38 mt,” Gupta said.

Major customers of SWR include BMM Ispat, NMDC, MSPL, Zuari, Ultratech, ACC and JK Cements, he said.

New initiatives Gupta said new sidings has been opened for Adani Agri Logistics at Malur (near Bengaluru). The siding is constructed for unloading of food grains of privately owned bogie covered hopper wagon for food grains.

For the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) siding at Kudgi in Vijayapura district, a siding was constructed for unloading of coal in high-sided bogie open wagon (BOXN) for power house at Kudgi. Out ward loading of fly ash is projected