Bhubaneswar: During the first five months of this financial year ie from 1st April to 31st August, 2023, East Coast Railway has transported 100.90 million tons of goods compared to 97.13 million tons of goods registered in the previous financial year. In addition, it has registered an increase of 3.9% in the current financial year, increasing its cargo handling to 3.77 million tons.

This has been possible due to the outstanding performance of all three railways of East Coast Railway ie Khorda Road, Visakhapatnam and Sambalpur railways. During this period, the East Coast Railway imported 61.3 million tons of coal, 3.33 million tons of raw materials for steel industry, 8.21 million tons of iron and steel, 11.68 million tons of iron ore, 0.76 million tons of cement, 1.29 million tons of food. Grains, 2.57 million tons of fertilizer, 1.24 million tons of petrol national products, 1.76 million tons of cargo loaded into containers and 8.76 million tons of other cargo are included.

Major contributors to freight are Talcher, Paradip, Dhamra, Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Keonjhar, KK Line, Steel Plant, Aluminum Plant and other industrial establishments within the East Coast Railway perimeter. During this period, 63.59 million tons of goods have been transported from Khorda Road Railway, 29.75 million tons of goods from Visakhapatnam Railway and 7.54 million tons of goods from Sambalpur Railway.

In August 2023 alone, East Coast Railway transported 20.43 million tons of freight which is 2.7% higher than the 19.90 million tons registered during the same period in 2022.