Indian Railways Missed Coal India Train Provision Targets For Over A Year: Govt Data

Indian Railways supply of trains to Coal India for transporting coal has fallen short of its monthly targets for more than a year, government data showed, highlighting the problems behind India's worst power crisis in over six years.

Indian utilities are scrambling to get hold of coal supplies to cope with record high power demand, but Indian Railways' inability to supply enough trains makes it difficult to boost coal stocks, which are at their lowest levels in years.

Inventories at Indian power plants fell 13 per cent in April despite a 27.6 per cent growth in Coal India's production, as a heatwave sent power demand soaring to a record high.

In April, state-run Indian Railways supplied 261 trains per day to Coal India for the power industry, the lowest in three months.

Indian Railways said at the end of April that it would cancel passenger trains to free up tracks and help to transport more coal to power plants. 

Coal, which accounts for more than half of Indian Railways' freight revenue, makes up nearly 75 per cent of India's power generation. State-run Coal India produces 80 per cent of India's coal.

Officials from state-run aluminium producer NALCO filed a court case last month over a coal supply shortfall as a result of the diversion of coal supplies and a shortage of trains. 

India's non-power sector have been taking more expensive power from the national grid due to a shortage in supplies of coal to their power plants, industry officials say.

(Reuters)