Govt will ramp up railways’ share in coal transportation to over 87% by FY30: Pralhad Joshi

The government plans to increase the share of Railways in coal transportation from 65 percent at present to 87 percent by 2030, said Minister for Coal Pralhad Joshi on Thursday. Releasing the national Coal Logistics Plan and Policy, Joshi said, “With the energy demand set to soar, coal consumption is projected to rise from 980 MT to 1.5 BT by 2030, necessitating efficient logistics. My ministry aims to boost the railways’ share in coal transportation to over 87 percent by 2029-30.”

“We need to continuously expand coal mining and scale up the evacuation infrastructure,” said the minister. The Coal Logistics Plan proposes a shift towards increasing transportation of coal through railways through first mile connectivity (FMC) projects, aiming for a 14 percent reduction in rail logistic costs and an annual cost saving of Rs 21,000 crore. “This transformative approach is expected to minimise air pollution, alleviate traffic congestion, and reduce carbon emissions by approximately 100,000 tonnes per annum. Moreover, a 10 percent saving in average turnaround time of wagons nationwide is expected,” Joshi said.