VIJAYAWADA: For the third consecutive month, freight operations and loading of the South Central Railway (SCR) Zone in November surpassed the figures of the corresponding period last year. The zone has recorded freight loading of 9.3 MT in November this year as against 8.9 MT in November 2019 despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement issued here on Wednesday, SCR General Manager Gajanan Mallya said the diversification of the freight basket also continues with the growth in other commodities loading more than making up marginal reduction in coal loading. The sustained focus on agriculture commodities loading has led to food grains and fertiliser loading growing by 25 per cent (0.64 MT) and 44 per cent (0.62 MT) respectively in November this year.
This apart, cement and container loading has also seen an upswing. Container loading registered 0.152 million tonnes in November this year which is 67 per cent higher when compared to the corresponding period in the last year. Cement loading registered 2.84 MTs which is 50 per cent (1.9 MTs) higher than the previous year loading in the corresponding period.