Coal mine closure, Itarsi fire hits CR revenue

The route relay interlocking (RRI) failure near Itarsi, coupled with the closure of Karnataka-EMTA coal mines, has left the Nagpur division of Central Railway (CR) bleeding. First quarter earnings show the division´s total revenue down by a substantial Rs 21.38 crore. The worst hit was revenue from freight, which dropped by Rs 44 crore. In 2014, during the four-month period between April-July, freight earnings were Rs 738 crore but is down to Rs 694.84 crore this year. Over 90 per cent of Central Railways´ freight revenue comes from coal transportation. The severely affected train traffic due to RRI failure at Itarsi is one of the prime reasons for the performance. Senior divisional commercial manager KK Mishra also attributed the slowdown in numbers to the ´closure of Karnataka-Emta coal mines near Bhadravati in Chandrapur´.