The South Central Railway, Vijayawada Railway Division, has made notable progress in freight loading operations. In spite of it, no allocation has been made to develop new lines in the Railway Budget.
The division loaded 2.486 Million Tonnes (MT) by operating 1,346 wagons per day during February 2012-13, as against the target of 1,273 wagons.
The division recorded 15 per cent growth in freight loading this year.
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The Railways earns a sizeable revenue from Krishnapatnam Port located in Nellore district by transporting coal, food grains, fertilizers, and other commodities. The SCR officials plan to triple the lines between Gudur and Venkatachalam to give a boost to business.
The poor allocation due to losses and paucity of funds disappointed the officials.
Except for survey of a new line between Kondapalli and Kothagudem, not a single new line, electrification, or doubling was allotted for the Vijayawada division in the 2013-14 budget.
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“The SCR is transporting three to four rakes per day from Kakinada Port, while we are loading about 10 rakes from Krishnapatnam Port a day. The Vijayawada railway officials are holding discussions with the CEOs of both the ports to improve business. We have about 35 per cent business from Kakinada Port and 65 per cent from Krishnapatnam Port Company Limited,” Vijayawada Divisional Railway Manager Pradeep Kumar told The Hindu .
The port officials are doubling the tracks between Krishnapatnam and Venkatachalam to improve freight transportation, under Special Purpose Vehicle. The project will be completed by June this year. “The tracks between Gudur and Venkatachalam have to be tripled, which will connect to the main line. As of now, we are operating through automatic system to ease congestion,” the DRM said.
Red-letter day
February 23 was recorded as the best single day performance for the year. As many as 37 rakes were loaded with 0.124 MT, earning Rs.9.62 crore. Of the total, 23 rakes were loaded with coal, said Mr. Pradeep Kumar.