Bhubaneswar, Aug 15: On the occasion of the 80th Independence Day, East Coast Railway (ECoR) General Manager Parmeshwar Funkwal highlighted the major achievements of ECoR in safety, passenger services, freight loading, infrastructure development and employee welfare.

East Coast Railway retained its position as the highest loading zone of Indian Railways for the ninth consecutive year, recording a historic freight loading of 286.26 million tones, registering a growth of 10.42% over the previous year.

Passenger traffic increased to 97.71 million, while originating revenue rose to ₹32,837.67 crore. ECoR achieved a CAPEX utilisation of ₹12,221.81 crore, or 105.80% of the Budget Grant. Its Operating Ratio of 55.14% was the second-best among all Zonal Railways.

During the current financial year up to July 2026, ECoR has loaded 88.36 million tones of freight, carried 30.49 million passengers and generated revenue of ₹8,228.86 crore.

To meet seasonal passenger demand, ECoR operated 463 special trains and augmented 1,501 coaches. Sixteen pairs of new trains were introduced, including the Puri–Koraput–Puri Express via Sambalpur. The Brahmapur–Udhna–Brahmapur Amrit Bharat Express was upgraded from tri-weekly to daily service, while LHB rakes were introduced in three pairs of trains.

During Rath Yatra 2026, ECoR operated more than 300 special trains, carrying approximately 13 lakh devotees. A state-of-the-art, round-the-clock Command and Control Centre monitored 350 CCTV cameras, robotic systems and drones, enabling real time crowd monitoring and rapid response.

Safety remained the foremost priority, with 25 Hot Axle Box Detectors, safety fencing over 496 km, solar powered CCTV surveillance, 14 ROBs and 36 RUBs/LHS.

Major infrastructure milestones included commissioning of sections of the Jagdalpur–Kirandul and Koraput–Singapur Road Doubling Projects, 43.79 TKM railway electrification, and tunnel breakthroughs in key doubling projects. ECoR also became the first Railway to operate DPWCS enabled long haul freight operations, with 895 trains run using the system.

ECoR strengthened its green initiatives through 2,874 cleanliness drives, 72 HOG rakes and 433 KWp of solar plants, generating 48.32 lakh units of green energy and saving ₹3.15 crore.

RPF introduced the AI powered ‘DSC ARJUN’ Rover Humanoid for passenger security. Under Operation Jeevan Raksha, RPF saved 28 passengers and rescued 471 missing children.

Reaffirming East Coast Railway’s commitment to excellence, General Manager Parmeshwar Funkwal stated, “The challenges ahead are significant, but with dedication and collective effort, we will continue to set new benchmarks for Indian Railways.”

The Independence Day celebrations featured a prize distribution ceremony for winners of various competitions, a lively cultural program presented by school children, all of which added vibrancy and enthusiasm to the occasion.