Bhubaneswar, Apr 2 (FN Bureau) East Coast Railway (ECoR) has surpassed all records of Indian Railways in Freight Loading, in the last financial year 2023-24. ECoR sources here on Tuesday said during 2023-24 financial year, from April 1 2023 to March 31 2024, East Coast Railway loaded 256.22 million tons of originating freight which is 14.72 million ton more and registered a growth of 6.1 percent in comparison to the 2022-23 fiscal. The ECoR has also become the first Zone to cross the milestone of 200 Million Tons of freight loading for the fifth time in a row. The three Railway Divisions of ECoR have contributed greatly to the stupendous feat achieved by it.
It was the Second Railway Zone after the undivided South Eastern Railway to load 200 MT in the financial year 2019-20. On Tuesday, it became the first zone to cross 250 MT of freight. During the financial year 2023-24, East Coast Railway has 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 percent 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 such as 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 achievement,ECoR sources said. 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.