Key Points
Coal movement doubles from 28 to 54 million tonnes in two years
Railways introduces telescopic freight benefit for coal transport
Multi-modal system reduces carbon footprint
Enhances national energy logistics efficiency
This multi-modal system allows for seamless transportation of coal from mines to ports and to their end users, while improving logistical efficiencies.
The RSR mode reduces congestion on the all-rail route (ARR) by providing an additional alternative mode of coal evacuation and ensures a lower carbon footprint compared to the ARR mode of coal movement. The coastal shipping mode of transportation has the potential to revolutionise India’s logistics industry, according to a Coal Ministry statement.
Over the last few years, the Ministry of Coal has made significant strides in the use of the coal Rail-Sea-Rail (RSR) networks for evacuation of coal in coordination with Railways. As a result, the coal movement which was 28 million tonnes (MT) in FY22 has almost doubled to 54 MT in FY24 and is on the increasing trend.
To achieve a further increase in RSR mode for coal movement, Indian Railways notified in February their decision to permit telescopic benefit in freight rate to coal movement to powerhouses transported from coal mines of Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries. This would further aid in increasing the coal movement in RSR mode.
At present movement of domestic coal from mines has been taking place through the Rail-Sea-Rail (RSR) route in order to meet the demand of various power plants. This involves the movement of coal by rail in two legs i.e. from mines to the unloading port as the first leg and from subsequent loading port to power plants as second leg. As a matter of policy, the charging of both legs of rail transportation was done separately and independently by Railways.
The telescopic benefit reduces rail freight for coal movement as compared to charging coal freight in both legs separately, resulting in reduced cost of transportation in RSR mode.
This decision of Railways will aid in increasing the volume of coal movement further in RSR mode and promote coastal shipping, the statement said.
The Ministry of Coal said it was committed to enhancing the Rail-Sea-Rail coal evacuation strategy to consistently meet the nation's growing energy demands and ensure a resilient and efficient energy supply system.
