ECL commissions Rs 110-cr railway siding to boost coal evacuation capacity

Kolkata, Jan 14 (PTI) Eastern Coalfields Ltd, a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd, on Wednesday said it inaugurated the Dalmia Railway Siding in West Bengal's Salanpur area at a cost of Rs 110 crore, aiming to significantly strengthen coal evacuation and rail logistics in the region.

The facility was inaugurated by ECL Chairman-cum-Managing Director Satish Jha in the presence of senior officials and employees of the company, ECL said in a statement.

The commissioning of the new siding is expected to enhance coal dispatch capacity by enabling faster, more efficient and reliable movement, while easing existing logistics constraints in the Salanpur region.

The colliery siding has a designed evacuation capacity of 6 million tonnes per annum. It comprises two coal-loading platforms of 650 metres each, a dedicated railway weighbridge and a total siding route length of 2.25 km, with an overall track length of 4.65 km.

Coal loading will be carried out using pay loaders, providing operational flexibility, the company said.

The project was executed by RITES Ltd and integrated with the Eastern Railway network under the Asansol Division, with Salanpur as the serving station.

The project spans 70.21 acres, including land belonging to ECL and Eastern Railway, officials said.

According to ECL, the rail-linked facility will substantially reduce dependence on road transport, improve turnaround time, lower logistics costs and support environmentally sustainable coal movement. PTI BSM RBT