State-owned CIL on Thursday said environment-friendly coal transportation grew by 34% year-on-year to 102.5 million tonnes in FY25.
This was through 20 first mile connectivity (FMC) projects linked with the Indian Railway network.
Comparatively, the same was 76.5 MTs in FY 2024 through 17 such projects, Coal India Ltd (CIL) said in a statement.
Plans are on anvil to commission 19 FMC projects of nearly 150 million tonnes per year capacity during FY 2026.
FMC initiative is an automated coal evacuation process which ensures eco-friendly coal transportation from pithead, in piped conveyor belts, to loading points.
Key features of FMC involve constructing mechanised coal handling plants equipped with coal crushers where coal is sized, and rapid loading systems where precise quantity of quality coal is loaded into wagons avoiding over or under loading.
FMC replaces truck-based transportation to railway sidings and avoids manual loading through pay loaders. This leads to reduced dust, noise and vehicular emissions, minimised road congestion and improved safety. Wagon turnaround time will also be lower.
“We expect to transport an estimated incremental quantity of 20 MTs through FMC projects in the ongoing financial year,” said a senior official of CIL.
In a phased manner, CIL has plans to commission 92 FMC projects of 994 MT/Y capacity by FY 2029 end. With the company aiming at 1 billion tonnes coal production by FY 2029, the capacity is being built up to enable the transport of almost the entire quantity in an environment-friendly manner.
Coal India accounts for over 80% of domestic coal output.