Moneycontrol PRO
HomeNewsBusinessEconomyIndian Railways freight loading in August grows to highest ever level once more

Indian Railways freight loading in August grows to highest ever level once more

August marks the twelfth consecutive month when the Indian Railways had surpassed its highest freight loading volumes.

September 01, 2021 / 22:10 IST
Illustration of Indian Train (Source: ShutterStock)

The Indian Railways surpassed its highest-ever freight loading volumes in a month once again in August, after the national carrier managed to transport 110.55 million tonnes of freight last month.

Indian Railways freight loading during August 2021 was 110.55 million tonnes which is 16.87 percent higher when compared to August 2020. The railways earned Rs. 10,866.20 crore from freight loading during August which is 20.2 percent higher when compared to last year.

Freight figures continued to maintain the high momentum in terms of loading, earning, and speed in August, said a statement by the Ministry of Railways.

A spokesperson of the Indian Railways said that the increase in freight loading in August was due to growth in the loading of coal, cement, iron ore and foodgrains.

A major reason for the current rise was the growth in non-traditional commodities like automobile, fly ash, stone, onion, chemical salt, sand, sugar and cotton.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

View more
How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

View more
Show

August marks the twelfth consecutive month when the Indian Railways had surpassed its highest freight loading volumes. The national carrier had in September last year announced a skew of measures to promote the use of railways to transport goods.

To achieve this, the national transporter had taken several industry-friendly measures during the financial year. This includes the formation of business development units, launching of freight business development portal and introduction of a new iron ore policy.

Tariff incentives like long lead discounts for commodities like coal, iron ore, finished steel, limestone and clinker and short lead discounts for all commodities except coal and iron ore also helped in shifting of a large share of commodities from road to rail route.

In addition, withdrawal of busy season surcharge of 15 percent, 5 percent and 25 percent discount on loaded and empty containers respectively, 40 percent discount for fly ash in railway wagons were other major tariff measures launched during the year.

Among the non-tariff incentives lined up during the year include liberalisation of the wagon and terminal investment schemes, reduction in punitive charges, opening up of all stations for parcel traffic, removing the limit of the number of co-users at sidings, improvement of good sheds and improving the fleet of wagons. For smaller transportation products also distance restriction was removed during the year.

 

first published: Sep 1, 2021 10:09 pm

Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

Subscribe to Tech Newsletters

  • On Saturdays

    Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.

  • Daily-Weekdays

    Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.

Advisory Alert: It has come to our attention that certain individuals are representing themselves as affiliates of Moneycontrol and soliciting funds on the false promise of assured returns on their investments. We wish to reiterate that Moneycontrol does not solicit funds from investors and neither does it promise any assured returns. In case you are approached by anyone making such claims, please write to us at grievanceofficer@nw18.com or call on 02268882347
CloseOutskill Genai