Tuticorin freight handling complex awarded, achieved net revenue of Rs. 323 crore

Hemant Kumar, Divisional Railway Manager, Southern Railway (Madurai division), said that the division hoped to achieve net revenue of Rs. 323 crore this financial year against Rs. 264.46 crore realised during the previous year.

Of the Rs. 179.40 crore achieved till September 30, Rs. 83.15 crore was generated through passenger movement and the rest from cargo loading, he told reporters here on Wednesday.

On cargo handling, the division has set a target of 25 lakh tonnes for the fiscal against 19.7 lakh tonnes loaded during the previous financial year.

This fiscal, till August 31, a total of 10.06 lakh tonnes of cargo was loaded, surpassing Rs. 10.05 lakh tonnes achieved during the corresponding period last fiscal.

Of the 10.06 lakh tonnes of cargo handled, 85 percent was contributed by the `Tuticorin freight handling complex' comprising Meelavittan, SPIC siding and Tuticorin Harbour stations.

An increase of 0.01 lakh tonnes in the period could be attributed to higher imports of wheat, coal and fertilizer through Tuticorin port, as well as larger quantity of gypsum and salt movement from Meelavittan station.

Payload of wagons stood at 63 tonnes.

By utilising the infrastructure in a better way, the wagon turnaround time in the division would be reduced from 1.7 days clocked in the last fiscal, and the speed of trains increased from 28 km per hour to 30 km or 477 km for an engine a day to 500 km.

Mr. Kumar gave away prizes to the staff of `Tuticorin freight handling complex' in recognition of their contribution in increasing the cargo load.

I. Jayakumar, Senior Divisional Operations Manager, and Robert Rajasekaran, Divisional Engineer, was present.

Source The Hindu