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Santanu Sanyal

Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), Feb 11 South East Central Railway (SECR), the country’s largest freight-loading zonal railway, is working on schemes to increase the maximum speed of freight trains, both empties and loaded, with the objective of increasing the line capacity.

“Ours is a major freight-loading railway and as the demand for additional facilities for transportation of larger volumes of freight traffic rises, we’ve to explore all avenues as to how to run more trains on the existing network, till such time the new lines under construction are ready for operation”, Mr N.S. Kasturirangan, General Manager of SECR, told Business Line here on Wednesday.

The maximum speed limit of a freight train, he said, would vary depending on the section on which it is operated. “On certain sections, the maximum speed limit could be increased from 50 km an hour to 60 kmph but not on others where it could be less”, he said pointing out that the maximum speed limit of empties was higher than that of the loaded trains.

Currently, the average speed of freight trains, both empties and loaded taken together, would be about 30 kmph.

SECR, according to its General Manager, has already increased the maximum limit of passenger trains from 100-105 kmph and is trying to raise it further to 110 kmph.

Towards achieving the objective of higher speed limit for freight trains, SECR, he said, was also working on upgradation of loop lines, bypasses, sidings and crossovers. “Unless this is done, the whole purpose of the present exercise will be defeated”, he observed.

SECR, he said, would like more private sidings to come up for coal loading in keeping the present policy of the Indian Railways.

“This has proved to be a successful model and win-win for both the Railways and the customers”, he remarked.

SECR does not want any more sidings of its own, at least immediately, due to various reasons, the most important being the problem associated with land acquisition for such sidings.

In fact, the customers are being encouraged to have their own sidings even on railway lands, subject to availability and certain other conditions. Right now, the railway sidings are open for use by private traders while private sidings are being exclusively used by the consumers setting up such facilities.

SECR has more than 100 private sidings in areas under its jurisdiction, mostly for loading coal.

In reply to a question, Mr Kasturirangan pointed out that till January in current fiscal, the non-programmed coal loading (other than loading at designated sidings for major power houses, as programmed before) was to the tune of 165 rakes, yielding a revenue of Rs 45.5 crore to SECR.

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