HUBLI
South Western Railway (SWR) officers and staff are putting the best of their efforts to achieve high performance in freight and parcel transport, a note released by Aneesh Hegde
Chief Public Relations Officer of SWR stated.
On the freight sector, SWR has achieved originating loading of 38.86 million tonnes (MT) in the present financial year till date which is higher than that of entire last year. On 18th February 2022, it has surpassed the loading of financial year 2020-21 by registering originating loading of 38.19 Million Tonnes and originating freight earning for the period is Rs.3401.74 crore as compared to Rs. 2603.89 crores in the corresponding period of last financial year which is an increase of 30.64 percent.
Emerging as a transporter of choice for automobile manufacturers, SWR has transported 196 rakes of two and four-wheelers till date which is the highest ever. In the entire previous financial year, it was been able to reach a figure of 193 rakes. It is noteworthy that Toyota has chosen to shift from road to railways for transport of their vehicles as railways offers reliable, damage free transport with less carbon footprint compared to road. TVS, KIA, Maruti Suzuki, Tata are some important customers who regularly transport vehicles by railway.
SWR has achieved new frontiers in sugar loading by transporting 355 rakes till date which is the highest ever number of rakes loaded by SWR. Sugar, primarily from Belagavi-Rayabag-Chikkodi region is transported to West Bengal, Assam and Bangladesh.
Tapping the demand for cement with the active marketing efforts by Business Development Units, SWR has been able to load 265 rakes till date as compared to 217 rakes for the same period in the last financial year. This is expected to show further upward trend with rise in construction activities. It is to the credit of SWR Officials, that cement which is largely transported by road is now being increasingly transported by railway due to safe handling, timely and reliable transportation.
On the parcel front, SWR has created a new record by registering a revenue of Rs. 105 crore which is the highest ever since the formation of the zone. Two time-tabled Parcel Cargo Express Trains contracts have been awarded between Yeshwantpur to ICOD, Delhi and Vasco da Gama to Azara, Assam by Bengaluru and Hubli Divisions respectively. 232 trips of Time Tabled Parcel Trains, Indented Specials, GS Specials and Kisan Specials have been run till date in the present financial year enabling the transport of 1.67 lakh tonnes of fruits vegetables, iced fish, tyres, Nestle products, and other perishables. Bengaluru Division has run 33 Kisan Special Trains to Delhi and other cities in North India. Through this initiative, Farmers get 50 percent subsidy in freight and access to bigger markets.
Principal Chief Operations Manager Hari Shankar Verma stated that active outreach efforts to traders, farmers and manufacturers had been made in order to retain existing customers and bring in new freight and parcel customers. He emphasized that officers are working with a customer-first and solution oriented approach to understand their concerns and address them suitably. This positive step has resulted in increase in automobile, parcel loading and cement loading, he said.
General Manager Sanjeev Kishore has congratulated the efforts of Officers and Staff, and also expressed gratitude to freight and parcel customers for retaining their trust with Railways. He said, that SWR is working dedicatedly, round the clock to serve its customers and ensure essential commodities reach end users in time.
