Southern Railway expects to generate additional annual freight revenue of Rs 28.8 crore through a newly commissioned mechanised clinker loading facility at Kallakudi Palanganatham railway siding in Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu.
The facility was inaugurated by Southern Railway General Manager U Subba Rao on Thursday, who also flagged off the first consignment to Meenatchi Cement Works at the Gati Shakti Multimodal Cargo Terminal at Nalli in Madurai division.
The new facility is expected to handle 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes of clinker every month, adding approximately 0.7 million tonnes to Southern Railway’s annual freight loading. The additional traffic is projected to generate freight revenue of around Rs 28.8 crore annually.
Commissioned on May 28, 1963, the Kallakudi Palanganatham railway siding serves the Dalmiapuram cement plant of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited, which has an annual cement production capacity of four million tonnes.
According to Trichy Railway Division, the mechanised loading facility will strengthen industry-railway partnerships and provide reliable and sustainable logistics solutions to industries. The initiative is also expected to support Indian Railways’ Mission 3000 MT freight loading target.
Balak Ram Negi, Divisional Railway Manager, Trichy Division, and ST Ramalingam, Chief Freight Transportation Manager, Southern Railway, were present at the inauguration.
Earlier, Subba Rao inspected Trichy railway junction and reviewed passenger amenities, station infrastructure and ongoing improvement works. He also visited the Trichy Railway Museum and planted saplings.