The purchase will not only give the company direct control to move coal to desired power plants, but also help free up pithead stocks. Moreover, as the availability of rakes increases, CIL could also enhance its allocation to non-power clients.

One rake comprises 59 wagons and a back-of-the-envelope calculation indicates that one rake can move 1.4 million tonne of coal per annum. The lifespan of these wagons is expected to be 35 years. These new wagons have the capacity to carry 80 tonne of load, compared to the conventional load-carrying capacity of 70 tonne.

However, initially, these wagons will not be able to function at the maximum load as the load bearing capacity of railway tracks is not sufficient. The procurement is being done under the General Purpose Wagon Investment Scheme, introduced by the Indian Railways which allows customers to own wagons for dedicated transport of their products.

Initially, the rakes will ply in the Jharsuguda-Nagpur and Katni zones of the South East Central Railway (SECR), and cover the entire Ib Valley area falling under the South Eastern Coalfields (SECL). Here, production is expected to perk up with the rakes catering to the demand from 15 power plants under SECL.