The report emphasizes the need to build exclusive railway lines for coal transport along these routes. The report, aimed at estimating coal rail transport up to 2030, highlights the alignment of coal corridors with specific freight corridors (DFC).
Specifically, it recommends prioritizing the development of coal corridors with the east coast DFC and the eastern part of the east-west DFC. These corridors would facilitate the transportation of coal, especially from Talacher to ports along the east coast. Estimates indicate that India’s energy needs will increase to approximately 3 trillion units (BU) annually by 2030.
Special Freight Corridor: Transformational Indian Railways Infrastructure I DFC Trial, Update
With a projected population of 1.51 billion by 2030, per capita energy consumption in India is expected to hover around 2,000 units per year. The study underlines the potential impact of any energy shortage, which could seriously hamper the country’s growth, leading to shortages or outages in several sectors, including manufacturing, agriculture and transportation.
Moreover, the study expects a significant increase in coal consumption in India, which is expected to reach 1,853 million tonnes (mt) by 2030. This projection takes into account the country’s robust economic growth and per capita energy consumption expected in 2030. This revised estimate in particular exceeds the figures from the National Railway Planwhich had initially set coal consumption at 1,547 tons.
To meet this rising demand, the Railway Board’s traffic, transport and business research unit identified and listed 615 priority projects in an earlier report. These projects include 132 supercritical I projects, expected to be completed in fiscal year 2024-25, 184 supercritical II projects, with a target completion date in fiscal year 2026-27, and 299 critical projects, scheduled for completion in the 2024-2025 financial year. fiscal year 2027-28.
