Coal India arm says CERL to complete Chhattisgarh rail project by Sep 2022

Coal India arm South Eastern Coalfields Ltd on Tuesday announced its first rake loading from Gharghoda terminal of its subsidiary CERL in Chhattisgarh and said remaining work of a Rs 3,055-crore rail project that has been partially in operation will be completed by September 2022 to augment supply of the dry fuel.

In a major push for supply of the fuel from Mand-Raigarh coalfields, the first rake of coal was loaded from Gharghoda freight terminal of Chhattisgarh East Railway Ltd on Monday, it said.

The rake was sent to Marwa thermal station of Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company Ltd (CSPGCL).

See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

The rail project covers approximately a length of 130 km, including the main line from Kharsia to Dharamjaigarh, three feeder tracks and spur line from Gharghoda to Donga Mauha, connecting mines of Gare-Pelma block, a SECL official said.

The 74-km Kharsia-Dharamjaigarh main corridor of the project has already been commissioned, and the remaining work is targeted to be completed by September next year, he said.

The facility of the Gharghoda terminal will help loading to the tune of about three rakes per day, the official said.

CERL was developed as a special purpose vehicle under the public-private partnership model, aiming at evacuation from Mand-Raigarh Coalfields of SECL, and the capital outlay of the project was estimated at around Rs 3,055 crore.

Operation of goods trains had commenced between Kharsia and Korichappar in October 2019, the company said.