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Seeking to further their utilisation of railways for transportation, State-owned miner Coal India (CIL) informed Wednesday (October 8, 2025) that it has inked a non-binding memorandum of agreement (MoU) with railway infrastructure developer IRCON International (IRL) to develop rail infrastructure for the miner and its subsidiary companies.
Coal India, which accounted for 76% of the overall production of fuel source on a year-to date basis until August, had entered into a similar agreement with Konkan Railways this August.
Development of rail infrastructure for efficient transportation of coal has also been among the imperatives for the government. In a meeting held September 19, the Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Coal Rupinder Brar had sought timely completion of critical projects for coal evacuation.
Among other things, the additional secretary had sought IRCON coordinate with CIL and South Eastern Coalfields (SECL) to resolve pending issues “at the earliest” for timely completion of Gevra-Pendra Road double rail line and phase one of the Kharsia-Dharmajaigarh respectively– both in Chhattisgarh.
Poignant to note, according to government data, coal is the single largest contributor to railway freight. It accounted for an average share of nearly 49% of total freight income, totalling to ₹82.275 crore, in FY 2022-23 alone. The revenue contribution surpassed 33% of the total earnings of railway, it stated.
Published – October 08, 2025 06:24 pm IST
