Railway Board highlights need for dedicated coal corridors

A study conducted by the Railway Board has emphasised the need for dedicated coal corridors in the country to meet the growing power dema­nd. Since the majority of coal is transported from Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh to the north, west and south-east of the country, there is a need to develop tracks that are used exclusively for coal movement on these routes. These corridors will be in line with dedicated freight corridors (DFCs). According to the study, the east coast DFC and the eastern part of the east-west DFC should be developed on priority in order to provide access to coal transportation from Talcher to ports dotting the eastern coastline. In order to address the growing coal demand, the traffic, transportation and business research unit of the Railway Board had identified and listed 615 priority projects in a separate report.