Shortage Of Railway Wagons Hurting Cement Industry

The deployment of maximum wagons for coal transportation has affected other industries as the loading of clinker and cement has witnessed decline in the recent past.

India is the second largest cement producing country after China.

The railways could provide 2,290 wagons per day on average for clinker loadings while the requirement is nearly 3,000 wagons per day.

Clinker is the raw material required for cement production. There is about 15 per cent less loading of the clinker than the required clinker.

There are 3,679 wagons being used in a day on an average for cement loading while the requirement is more than that, said a senior Railway Ministry official. Cement has 8 per cent direct impact on gross domestic product (GDP) share through construction activities.

However, the official added that the shortage of wagons for clinker loading is adversely affecting the cement industry. The type of wagons required for coal loading is the same as for clinker and cement loading.

Cement is the second most commodity in the world. Industry accounts for more than 8 per cent of the global installed capacity for cement production.