New Delhi: The railways spent more than Rs 150 crore in repairing around 2,000 damaged and dilapidated wagons over the last four months to augment coal movement to power plants, according to official data.
It also said that around 9,982 such wagons were listed as damaged in January, the numbers of which reduced to 7,803 by May 2, with the railways managing to repair 2,179 wagons in time for the coal demand to peak in the country.
Officials said it cost the national transporter around Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh to repair each wagon. Sources indicate that damage to wagons has become a cause of concern for the ministry since private contractors used by power plants to unload coal began substituting manual unloading with JCBs.
“JCBs hit the interior of the wagons and damage them severely. While earlier, this unloading was done manually, now it is being done through JCBs which have resulted in a significant increase in the number of wagons that are damaged. We are repairing them at a fast pace and using the resources for coal,” an official said. —PTI

Press Trust of India