Due to rise in its freight charges, Indian Railways is carrying less cement than it used to. Even the slowing economy that has hit the construction industry has been attributed for the decreased freight carriage of the Railways.The Railways carried cement fell by 11.8 per cent to 7.52 million tonne (mt) in August from 8.53 mt in the year earlier, amid an increase in freight fares of as much as 24 per cent. The Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) said the decline was prompted in part by the increase in freight rates, although the general decline in the cement market was also a reason.Also, the material doesn’t have to be sent across long distances.
NK Pande, a senior Deputy Secretary at CMA said THAT nowadays a larger share of cement dispatches take place within 400 km of the plant. For shorter distances, road transport is more economical and allows for door-to-door delivery without multiple handling stages as in the case of rail transport.Cement manufacturers find it more economical to use rail only if the distance is more than 700 km, said R Sivadasan, former Indian Railways chief financial officer.