Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on Monday abolished 10 per cent busy route surcharge on iron ore in the Railway Budget 2007-08, but proposed a 21 per cent congestion charge on ore traffic - a move that could trigger angry reactions from the steel industry.
"It has been proposed to drop 10 per cent busy route surcharge on iron ore booked to sidings and goods sheds serving ports. A 21 per cent congestion charge on iron ore traffic booked to sidings and goods sheds serving ports has been proposed," he told the Lok Sabha.
He said freight would be charged on the basis of the notified standardised permissible carrying capacity of the wagon, irrespective of the commodity being baggaged or loose or the commodity being carrying capacity or enhanced carrying capacity.
Pointing out that Railways has been losing steel and cement traffic ever since the introduction of the new economic policy in 1991, he hoped that it would be able to increase traffic in these two commodities to 200 million tonnes by 2011-12.
In the first nine months of this year, Railways has increased its share in transportation of cement and steel by five to seven per cent.
"While the cement and steel industry registered a growth rate of ten per cent this year, our cement and steel traffic have increased by 20 to 30 per cent. This is a result of market and consumer oriented policies," he said.
