Coal India to invest in Railways

Coal India Ltd (CIL), the biggest producer of coal in the world and producer of 80% of India’s coal, is planning on investing in building railway lines and freight wagons. The company had to decrease its production of coal to 440 million tonnes in 2010 due to shortage of railway wagons and environmental reasons. Moreover, it has been receiving complaints from many of its leading customers such as National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and National Aluminum Company about their supplies not reaching in time due to the freight trains not reaching on time. CIL has marked about five sectors for building railway lines which would help boost its capacity to transport coal from its mines to its customers. The railway policy of allowing coal companies to collect a transportation surcharge from its customers would encourage Coal India to build its own tracks and wagons.