Palakkad rail division to get additional coal traffic from New Mangalore Port.

A senior official of the Southern Railway Zone has asked the Palakkad division of the zone to be ready to handle additional coal traffic from New Mangalore Port.

Speaking at the Railway Week celebrations of Southern Railway at Palakkad, S Anantharaman, Principal Chief Operations Manager of Southern Railway, said the launching of Chettinad Mangalore Coal Terminal Pvt Ltd. at New Mangalore Port will improve coal loading. He asked the Palakkad division to be ready to handle additional traffic.

It may be mentioned here that the Chettinad group’s director, V Chandramoleeswaran, who was in Mangaluru recently to attend the inauguration of the newly constructed terminal for mechanised handling of coal at berth no 16 of New Mangalore Port, had stated that the fully automated coal terminal is capable of handling 10 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of common user coal. At present, the port is handling around 4 MTPA of common user coal.

Freight discount

Anantharaman also said that freight customers of Palakkad division can be offered ‘station-to-station’ rate to attract additional traffic by offering freight discount. The division can also offer discount to the freight that are moved in the empty flow directions, he said.

Anantharaman was on a two-day visit to inspect the stations and freight loading and unloading points of Palakkad division.

HBL