As several states report power outages amid the coal crisis, Indian Railways has decided to cancel 657 train trips to speed up the movement of coal rakes to power plants.
As many as 509 mail/express train trips/services and 148 MEMU train services have been cancelled.
The demand for power has risen in April due to heatwave and people in different parts of the country are facing power cuts. The problem has been accentuated by a steep rise in prices of imported coal due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict and some power plants not operating to their full capacity.
A total of 533 coal rakes were put on duty, said a railway official.
For the power sector, 427 rakes were loaded yesterday. 1.62 million tonnes of coal was loaded for the power sector.
"The cancellation of trains is an interim measure. We are reviewing the situation on daily basis. Train cancellation has been done in non-priority sectors and less busy routes," informed Raiways' official.
The services of the mail, express or local passenger trains will resume once the coal storage in power plants normalises.
( With inputs from ANI )
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