Bhubaneswar: The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has surpassed all records of Indian Railways in Freight Loading in the Financial Year 2023-24. From 1st April 2023 to 25th March 2024, ECoR loaded 250 million tons of freight, shattering the earlier record of the highest Freight Loading of the 2022-23 fiscal. ECoR has also become the 1st Zone to cross the Milestone of 200 Million Tonne of loading for the 5th time in a row. The three divisions of the ECoR have contributed greatly to the stupendous feat achieved by it.
East Coast Railway was the Second Railway Zone after the undivided South Eastern Railway to load 200 MT in the financial year 2019-20. Today, it has become the first zone to cross 250 MT of freight.
During the financial year 2023-24, East Coast Railway has loaded 149.50 MT of Coal, 12.9MT of Raw Materials to Steel Plants, 20.15 MT of Steel & Slag, 37.4 MT of Iron Ore, 1.21 MT of Cement, 3.16 MT of Food Grains, 6.4 MT of Fertilizers, 3.0 MT of Mineral Oil, 23.27 MT of freight in Containers and other goods. This is 6% more than the corresponding period of last year.
Khurda Road Division of ECoR has contributed 156.17 million tons followed by 74.66 million tons by Waltair Division and 19.20 million tons by Sambalpur Division. All three Divisions have performed better than the previous year and surpassed their last year’s loading figure.
The coalfields of MCL at Talcher, five ports in ECoR jurisdiction, i.e. Paradeep, 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 the remarkable performance of ECoR with proper planning and coordination with Govt Sectors and Industries.
ECoR under the leadership of its General Manager Shri Manoj Sharma achieved the remarkable feat. The General Manager has been instrumental by motivating its workforce right from day one. Right thinking with positive Attitude and continuous hard work has been the hallmark of this zone.