GUWAHATI, Nov 14 - Fall in transportation of commodities like foodgrains and raw materials due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown and economic slowdown has affected the year-on-year cumulative revenue earnings from freight traffic of the Maligaon-headquartered Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) during the first half of the current 2020-21 fiscal.
NFR�s revenue earnings from freight traffic on originating basis came down to Rs 460.98 crore during the first six months of this financial year from Rs 635.98 crore in the past year, resulting in decrease of 27.52 per cent on an annual basis.
The commodity-wise freight traffic on originating basis of the NFR also contracted by a massive 31.49 per cent year-on-year to 3.46 million tonne (MT) during the April 1-September 30 period of this fiscal as against 5.05 MT in the comparative period of 2019-20.
NFR earned Rs 106.94 crore by transporting 0.54 MT of foodgrains, Rs 16.94 crore from transportation of 0.17 MT of raw materials for steel plants, and Rs 24.04 crore from freight of 0.12 MT of coal in the first half of 2020-21.
The zone�s freight revenue from mineral oil (petroleum oil and lubricants) stood at Rs 258.28 crore in the April to September period, when it transported 1.81 MT of the product.
In addition, NFR earned Rs 4.63 crore from transportation of 0.08 MT of fertilisers, Rs 7.30 crore from 0.03 MT of container services, Rs 5.55 crore from 0.10 MT of cement and Rs 37.30 crore from 0.61 MT �other goods� during the period under review.
The effect of the pandemic and the lockdown was evident across the Indian Railways network, with almost all the zones, barring the Northern Railways, the North Western Railways and the Konkan Railways, reporting reduction in their revenue earnings from freight traffic during the first six months of the current financial year.
Overall, in the first half of 2020-21, the Indian Railways� cumulative revenue earnings from freight traffic on originating basis dipped by 16.85 per cent on an annual basis to just over Rs 50,184 crore, while its commodity-wise freight traffic registered a fall of 9.08 per cent to 533.66 MT.
�We mainly focused on transportation of essential commodities during the lockdown period. Demand for other items came down during that period. However, in the last two-three months we have witnessed resurgence of demand for various products as most economic activities have re-started. In addition, we have launched a number of incentives and special schemes for transporters and business houses which have also received positive response,� said an official.
He added that revenue from freight traffic is expected to pick up further during the third quarter and turn positive by the fourth quarter of this fiscal.