Bhubaneswar: The East Coast Railway (ECoR) loaded 256.22 million tons of originating freight during 2023-24, registering a growth of 6.1% than 2022-23 fiscal.
ECoR said in a statement that it has surpassed all records of Indian Railways in freight loading during the financial year and also become the 1st Zone to cross the milestone of 200 million tons of freight loading for 5th times in a row.
The three railway divisions of ECoR have contributed greatly to the stupendous feat achieved by it. ECoR was the second railway zone after undivided South Eastern Railway to load 200 MT in the financial year 2019-20. It has now become the first zone to cross 250 MT of freight.
During 2023-24, ECoR loaded 152.95 MT of coal, 13.29 MT of raw materials to steel plants, 20.77 MT of steel & slag, 31.26 MT of iron ore, 1.24 MT of cement, 3.24 MT of food grains, 6.46 MT of fertilizers, 3.10 MT of mineral oil, 23.91 MT of freight in containers and other goods. This is 6.1% more than the corresponding period of last year.
Khurda Road Division of ECoR has contributed 159.94 million ton followed by 76.48 million ton by Waltair Division and 19.80 million ton by Sambalpur Division. All the three Railway Divisions have performed better than previous year and surpassed their last year loading figure.
The coalfields of MCL at Talcher, five ports in ECoR jurisdiction – Paradip, Dhamara, Vizag, Gangavaram & Gopalpur; iron ore mines in Bailadila in Chhattisgarh, Major Steel & Aluminium Companies, iron ore mines in Keonjhar District are the major contributors in this achievements.
This remarkable loading has been achieved despite various challenges by remarkable performance of ECoR with proper planning and coordination with government sectors and industries apart from motivating its workforce. The achievement is propelled by its core elements – proper planning, a positive work environment, a motivated workforce, and the dedicated hard work of its employees.
