Railways' commodity freight revenue up 4.77 per cent in April-July 2009

The Railways has generated Rs18,274.92 crore revenue from commodity freight traffic during April-July 2009 against Rs17,442.11 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year, showing an increase of 4.77 per cent.

Railways carried 284.77 million tonnes of commodity freight traffic during April-July 2009 against 270.73 million tonnes in the corresponding period last year - an increase of 5.19 per cent. Net tonne per km (NTKM) went up to 1,86,845 million during April-July 2009 from 1,74,940 million tonnes during April-July 2008, showing an increase of 6.81 per cent.

Out of the total earnings of Rs4,508.04 crore from commodity freight traffic during July 2009, Rs1,656.80 crore came from transportation of 30.16 million tonnes of coal, followed by Rs648.21 crore from 11.68 million tonnes of iron ore for exports and despatches to steel plants and for other domestic users, Rs424.26 crore from 7.56 million tonnes of cement, Rs292.10 crore from 2.71 million tonnes of foodgrains, Rs281.99 crore from 3.39 million tonnes of petroleum oil and lubricant (POL), Rs283.18 crore from 2.59 million tonnes of pig iron and finished steel from steel plants and other points, Rs265.14 crore from 3.88 million tonnes of fertilizers, Rs75.69 crore from 0.99 million tonnes of raw material for steel plants except iron ore, Rs254.96 crore from 3.25 million tonnes by container service and Rs325.71 crore from 5.47 million tonnes of other goods.

Total approximate earnings of the Railways on an originating basis during the first 10 days of the current month (1st to 10th August 2009) rose to Rs2,193.78 crore from Rs1,987.64 crore during the same period last year - an increase of 10.37 per cent.

Total goods earnings have gone up to Rs1,87.78 crore during 1st August - 10th August 2009 from Rs1,30.54 crore during the period 1-10 August 2008, showing an increase of 11.82 per cent. Total passenger revenue earnings during the period rose to Rs633.86 crore from Rs592.76 crore during the same period last year - an increase of 6.93 per cent. Revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs54.91 crore during the period compared with Rs48.25 crore during the same period last year, showing an increase of 13.80 per cent.

The total approximate number of passengers booked during the period 1st to 10th August 2009 were 209.86 million against 190.36 million during the same period last year - an increase of 10.24 per cent. In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the number of passengers booked during 1-10 August 2009 were 110 million and 99.86 million compared with 104.43 million and 85.93 million during the same period last year, registering an increase of 5.33 per cent and 16.21 per cent, respectively.