Coal India to invest Rs. 3,370 crores in ramping up rail evacuation facilities.

Coal India Limited (CIL) is constructing 21 additional greenfield and brownfield railway sidings at an estimated investment of Rs. 3,370 crore in four of its subsidiaries, the company said in a release on Monday.
It said that CIL currently has around 152 rail sidings and the tally would go up to 173 by 2024 adding that the project would be commissioned by 2023-24.
The investment by CIL is done to increase impetus on rail evacuation gradually migrating away from the road movement of the dry fuel. Reduced road transportation of coal would depress the dust pollution and save on the diesel costs.
“The sidings will add fillip to CIL’s First Mile Connectivity efforts, acting as effective coal evacuation outlets. The dovetailing of existing and new rail sidings with rapid loading system silos of FMC projects will help improve loading quantity in future when production expands,” the company said.
CIL is aspiring for 1 Billion Tonne output by 2023-24 as part of a larger effort to transport the bulk of the coal through rail mode.
ET