GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO: 5948

ANSWERED ON:02.05.2013

FREIGHT TRAFFIC ON INDIAN RAILWAY

RAJAGOPAL LAGADAPATI

(a) whether the freight transportation by rail is comparatively less and have declined over the last few decades vis-à-vis the road transportation in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof along with the reasons therefor;

(c) the details of freight traffic on Indian Railways during the 11th Five Year Plan period and upto the current year and the ratio of freight carried by rail vis-à-vis road in the country, year-wise;

(d) whether the freight rates of the Railways are higher than that of the road transportation, and if so, the ratio of difference between both modes of freight rates; and

(e) the measures taken/being taken by the Railways to increase their freight traffic vis-à-vis road transportation in the country?

Will the Minister of RAILWAYSbe pleased to state:-

 MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

( SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY )

 (a) Authentic data of traffic from other modes of transport mainly road is neither comprehensive nor comparable with the rail traffic. For door- to-door service as well as short lead traffic, road transport is preferred, whereas, for long distances and bulk traffic, rail mode is preferred. Therefore, accurate comparison of traffic transported by rail and road is difficult.

(b) Does not arise.

(c) Freight loading during the Eleventh Five Year Plan increased from 794 million ton in the first year of the Plan i.e. 2007-08 to 970 million ton in the terminal year i.e. 2011-12. In the first year of the Twelfth Five Year Plan i.e. 2012-13 freight loading is provisionally estimated as 1010 million ton. Data for freight carried by road is not maintained.

(d) Indian Railways’ freight tariffs are explicitly notified in the form of a firm structure, based on the classification of commodity transported and its lead. Since the tariff structure prevalent on other modes of transport, such as roadways, are generally not so, their comparison with the railway freight tariff structure is considered neither accurate nor meaningful.

(e) To increase rail traffic Indian Railways have introduced various schemes like Dynamic Pricing Policy, Freight Incentive Scheme, Rail Side Warehousing Complexes, Automobile and Ancillary Hubs, Liberalized Wagon Investment Scheme, Wagon Leasing Scheme, Automobile Freight Train Operator Scheme and Special Freight Train Operator Scheme