State-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) will be constructing 21 railway sidings at an estimated investment of Rs 3,370 crore in four of its subsidiaries. These railway sidings would be commissioned by FY’24, as per reports. CIL currently has around 152 rail sidings and the tally would go up to 173 by 2024.
CIL is aiming to move about 555 MT of coal per year through mechanised means by FY’24. With CIL aspiring for one billion tonne output by FY’24, the nudge is to transport bulk of the coal through rail mode. In this backdrop, CIL is ramping up its rail evacuation facilities. South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) accounts for 10 of the proposed 21 sidings followed by Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL) with six, Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) three and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) two.
CIL is also investing in construction of new broad gauge rail lines in greenfield areas either on deposit basis or by formation of rail JVs with Indian Railways and the concerned state governments. To bolster further capacity enhancement CIL will be extending the rail links to newer loading points and doubling and tripling the lines in some cases.