The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has set a new benchmark in freight transportation by achieving the fastest-ever loading of 100.57 million tons (MT) of freight in just 148 days, during the current fiscal year of 2024-25. This marks a significant milestone not only for ECoR but for Indian Railways as a whole, showcasing unparalleled efficiency in freight management. In comparison, ECoR had taken 152 days to reach the same figure in the 2023-24 fiscal year. As of August 26, 2024, the Railway has recorded a 3.37 percent increase in freight loading, with 3.282 million tons more loaded compared to 97.288 MT loaded in the corresponding period of the previous year. This exceptional achievement is credited to the remarkable performance of all three divisions under ECoR’s jurisdiction—Khurda Road, Waltair, and Sambalpur.
Each Divisional Railways of ECoR has significantly contributed to this success with diverse freight categories. Key contributors to this freight milestone include major industrial hubs and ports such as Talcher, Paradeep, Dhamara, Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Keonjhar, the KK Line, steel plants, and aluminum plants within ECoR’s jurisdiction. In terms of Division-wise contributions, the Khurda Road Division led with 64.32 MT of freight, followed by the Waltair Division with 27.675 MT and the Sambalpur Division with 8.575 MT. ECoR sources said during the period 60.93 MT of coal , including 22.449 MT of imported coal, 3.812 MT of Raw Material for Steel Plants,8.168 MT of iron and steel,: 12.153 MT of Iron Ore, 32.873 MT of Cement and 1.076 MT of Foodgrains,2.284 MT Fertilizer, 1.24 MT Petroleum Oil, Lubricants and 2.151 MT Freight containers besides 8.419 MT of other cargo were handled by the ECoR.