Karnataka?s ban on export of iron ore from the state has hit the railways hard with the south western zone of the national transporter expecting to miss the freight loading target of 40 million tonnes this year.
Hubli division of South Western Railway, the main section for freight loading in the zone, loaded just over 18 million tonne of goods to the end of November 2010 as against the target of 27 million tonne, a shortfall of 9 million tonne.
Year-on-year, the division registered a fall of 3.5 million tonne as freight loading was 22 million tonne in the corresponding period of last year. Freight earning achieved by the division up to November was Rs 1,502 crore as against Rs 1,746 crore a year ago, a decrease of 14%.
From April to November 2010, South Western Railway earned Rs 1,886 crore as freight revenue against Rs 2,162 crore in the same period last year, 13% reduction year-on-year.
?The main reason for the reduction in loading is the ban imposed by Karnataka government. Railways had set a target of 40 million tonne freight loading this year, but we don?t expect to achieve the target as iron ore transport is our mainstay,? a senior official in South Western Railway told FE on the condition of anonymity.
The Karnataka government had imposed ban on iron ore export in July 2010 as it struggled to manage illegal mining in the state. As per state government data, more than 30 million tonnes of iron ore were illegally mined and exported from Karnataka in the last 10 years.
Before the imposition of ban, railways used to transport around 25-26 rakes of iron ore a day. Of these, 6-7 were for domestic use and the rest for export. However, the Hubli division has not loaded any rake of iron ore since August.
South Western Railway?s main operation is in Karnataka. It has a total route length of 3,260 kms, of which 2,765 kms lie in that state.
With freight earnings being lower than last year?s, South Western Railway is witnessing a reduction in total gross earnings. Gross earnings up to November 2010 were Rs 1,649 crore against Rs 1,880 crore in the corresponding period last year.
However, passenger earnings during the period were Rs 128.56 crore as against Rs 117.07 crore in the corresponding period of last year, registering an increase of 9.81%.