The Central Railway (CR) has earned over Rs 400 crore in the current financial year by selling scrap items, officials said on Sunday. The objective is to ensure safety and cleanliness on the premises by removing junk, and achieve ‘zero scrap’ by the end of financial year 2021-22, the official said.
According to the CR spokesperson, a scrap-free rail compound is one the priorities of the CR as it is very important from the passengers’ safety point of view. "With one month still to go, the CR has surpassed the scrap sale target of Rs 400 crore for the current financial year as it has earned Rs 401.38 crore as on January 31, 2022. This is the highest ever sale for CR.
The total sale during 2020-21 was Rs 391.43 crore, highest till now" said a CR official, adding besides generating revenue from scrap, it also helps to maintain the working premises neat and tidy. Scrap items including rail pieces, sleepers, tie bars, etc lying nearby railway lines is a potential safety hazard. Similarly, abandoned objects like water tanks, cabins in addition to staff quarters and other buildings are prone to be misused. Their quick disposal has always been a priority and monitored at the highest level. Scrap of concrete sleepers, which have accumulated in large quantities over CR, is also being disposed of to make the area free for railways’ activities besides generating revenue. Though the life of the rail depends upon the traffic of the section in normal conditions, the average life of a rail piece is considered around 20 years.
However, at several locations in Mumbai, due to curvature, the rail needs to be changed after every 10 years. “Due to excessive curvature at several locations in ghat section of Mumbai division, rail replacement is required within 10 years. On an average, we replace about 100 km of rails every year. Last year, 130 km rail was replaced and this year the target is 104km,” said an official of CR, adding that due to this exercise over 10,000 tonnesof old rail pieces are released every year. " Sale of scrap is not only helping in generating revenue but also maintaining the premises in better upkeep. He said that CR will work on a mission mode to sell all the identified scrap material at various locations in railways.
"The Central Railway is poised to cleanse the system from scrap on a ‘Mission Mode’ to achieve ‘Zero Scrap’ status and set an all-time high scrap sale record this financial year," said CPRO, CR, Shivaji Sutar. He added that continuous monitoring is being done to keep the stations, depots, sheds, workshops and sections scrap free. The scrap free mission, besides generating revenues will also improve the aesthetics of stations, workplaces and surrounding areas.”
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