Under the scheme, the railways would offer volume discount on certain commodities if their loading increases by more than five per cent compared to the loading which had taken place during the previous year in the corresponding six months, official sources said here on Sunday. Further, the commodities have been divided into two groups.

Cement, iron and steel, sponge iron, clinker and sugar come under Group I. For these commodities, the concession would be 10 per cent for incremental traffic and for the incremental traffic exceeding ten per cent, the concession would be 12 per cent of the freight rate, the sources said.

Under the Group II, commodities like iron ore, barytes, limestone, dolmite and gypsum have been included. For these goods, the concession for incremental traffic up to ten per cent would be eight per cent.And, for the incremental traffic exceeding 10 per cent, the concession would be 10 per cent of the freight rate, they said.

Under the original scheme, if the traffic offered by any customer between October 1998 and May 1999 was more by five per cent than the traffic offered by him between April and September 1998, then he was allowed a concession of ten per cent on the total incremental quantity.

This scheme was then applicable for the transportation of cement, clinker, iron ore, iron and steel and sponge iron. The sources further said the condition of minimum five per cent incremental traffic had also been relaxed in case of parties who move 70 per cent of their traffic by rail.

In the revised scheme, comparison has been made with the traffic loaded during the corresponding six-month period of the previous year. The sources also said that the new scheme was, however, open only for the "paid traffic".They said if the traffic had enjoyed concession on commercial grounds, the discount scheme would notinclude such traffic. They further said the discount was paid by way of refund for the incremental traffic up to five per cent and "directly through railway receipt on incremental quantity beyond five per cent".