Budget bets big on boosting wagon investment

The modified wagon investment scheme announced in the recent rail budget has opened up new vistas for investment in the wagon manufacturing segment and the move is set to ensure increased wagon availability to coal producing companies for transporting coal to different parts of the country.

According to the Chairman, Coal India Limited (CIL), Partha S Bhattacharyya, the wagon shortage has reached perilous proportions and is impacting plans to increase coal production to the optimum levels. To overcome the bottlenecks the company is ready for forging partnerships with private players for augmenting the availability of wagons.

In view of its stated production targets of 435 million tons per annum (MTPA) CIL needed about 210 wagons a day beginning mid December, the peak mining season. On an average currently company is getting nearly 170 wagons a day and this is even less than the 173 wagons received during the corresponding period last year.