Constructed at a cost of Rs 300 crore, a 14-km long Angul-Balram rail link was inaugurated by Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Thursday, December 29. With this link, coal evacuation from Talcher coalfields will receive a major boost, and now Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL) can to increase its daily despatchs of coal to the consumers by about 40,000 tonnes.
The rail link will enable MCL to despatch coal by 10 more rakes daily.
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Constructed by MCRL (Mahanadi Coal Railway Ltd), a joint venture company of MCL, IRCON International Ltd, and IDCO, the Angul-Balram rail link is the first phase of a total 68-km-long inner corridor linking Angul-Balram-Putugadia-Jarapada-Tentuloi, which will cater to the coal mines of Talcher coalfields in Angul district of Odisha.
The inner corridor is being implemented by MCRL in two phases. In the first phase, the 14-km-long Angul-Balram rail link was to be constructed, while in phase II 54-km-long Balram-Putugadia-Jarapada-Tentuloi rail link would be completed.
IRCON International Ltd is the implementing agency of this project, being developed at an estimated total cost of Rs 1,700 crore.
MCL, as a representative of the Ministry of Coal, has 64 percent equity shares, while IRCON, representing the Ministry of Railways, has 26 percent, and IDCO, representing the government of Odisha, has 10 percent equity shares. This JV was formed in 2015 to undertake project development, financing, and implementation of a common rail corridor for the identified coal projects in the state of Odisha.
The rail link will also facilitate the evacuation of dry fuel from the coal blocks allotted to miners other than Coal India in Talcher coalfields.
