NEW DELHI : The transportation of coal to power houses, through coastal shipping route is costing much more than rail routes, according to a survey done by the Indian Railways.

According to the analysis, due to the coal movement on shipping routes in the past five years, Indian Railways has lost a total revenue of approximately Rs 1,382.90 crore.

Analysing the movement of coal on three major routes, the report has estimated that railways lost around Rs 1,383 crore revenue in the past five years due to coal movement by RSR route. As per government data, currently around 23% of total coal reaches power plants from mines by RSR route which is expensive.

The ARR refers to transportation of freight from origin to destination only through rail route while RSR refers to the movement through rail to ports, then by ships and finally the cargo is transported from destination port to power plants.

Currently, the power sector relies heavily on coal, with around 70% of electricity generated from coal-fired power plants and around 80% of coal to power houses is transported via rail.

Taking note of the coal demand for power generation will increase and the government has approved Rs 2,980 crore for exploration of coal, the railway ministry report has recommended that the national transporter should expedite rail infrastructure and undertake more capacity enhancement works like multi-tracking, doubling and Dedicated Freight Corridor projects.