Indian government owned and operated transporter Indian Railways (IR) has hiked freight charges for handling all grades of coal, including coking coal, by about 20 percent effective as of January 15, 2018, a government notification said on Thursday, January 11.
The notification said that, while the higher freight rate will be applicable across all grades of coal and applicable throughout the year, the "busy season" rate of 15 percent applicable for nine months excluding the July-September period will be scrapped.
Under the new rates, IR will charge INR 618/mt ($10/mt) for transporting coal for distances of 201-245 km, and INR 3,815/mt ($60/mt) for distances of 3,419-3,500 km, according to the notification.