South Eastern Coalfields to complete its rail project by Sep 2022

Coal India Limited's (CIL) arm, South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), had announced that its first rake loading from Gharghoda terminal of Chhattisgarh East Railway Limited (CERL). Said that the remaining work of the Rs 3,055 crore rail project that is partially operational will be completed by September 2022 to supply dry fuel. For supplying fuel from Mand-Raigarh coalfields, the first rake of coal was loaded from the Gharghoda freight terminal of CERL. The rake was then sent to the Marwa thermal station of Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company Limited (CSPGCL). According to an official of the SERL, the railway project covers 130 km length, including the main railway line from Kharsia to Dharamjaigarh, three feeder tracks and a spur line from Gharghoda to Donga Mauha, which connects coal mines of Gare-Pelma block. The rail project's 74 km Kharsia-Dharamjaigarh main corridor has been commissioned, and the remaining work is expected to be completed by September 2022. The Gharghoda terminal will help load to the tune of three rakes every day. CERL was developed as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under public-private partnership (PPP), targeting its evacuation from the Mand-Raigarh coalfields of SECL. However, the capital outlay of the project was nearly Rs 3,055 crore. The company told the media that the operation of goods trains had commenced in October 2019 between Kharsia and Korichappar. Image Source