14 January 2026: Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) , a subsidiary of Coal India Limited (CIL) and a major Indian coal producer, operating mines mainly in West Bengal and Jharkhand, today inaugurated the *Dalmia Railway Siding* at Salanpur Area, marking a major upgrade to its coal evacuation and rail logistics infrastructure.
The facility was inaugurated by Shri Satish Jha, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, ECL, in the presence of Director (Finance) Md. Anzar Alam, Director (Technical/ Operations) Shri Niladri Roy, Director (HR) Shri Gunjan Kumar Sinha, Director (Technical/ Project & Planning) Shri Girish Gopinathan Nair and Shri Sudhir Kumar Sharma, Divisional Railway Manager, Asansol. The programme was coordinated under the leadership of Shri Dharmendra Kunar Singh, Area General Manager, Salanpur Area, along with senior officials and employees of ECL.
The commissioning significantly boosts ECL’s coal dispatch capacity, enabling faster, more efficient, and more reliable coal movement while easing logistics constraints in the Salanpur region.
The newly developed colliery siding has a designed evacuation capacity of 6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The infrastructure includes two coal-loading platforms, every 650 metres in length, a dedicated railway weighbridge, and a total siding route length of 2.25 kilometres, with an overall track length of 4.65 kilometres. Coal loading operations will be carried out using pay loaders, ensuring operational flexibility and efficiency.
Developed at a cost of ₹110.10 crore, the project was executed by RITES Limited and integrated with the Eastern Railway network under the Asansol Division with Salanpur as the serving station. The project covered a total land area of 70.21 acres, including land owned by ECL and Eastern Railway.
The rail-linked facility is expected to substantially reduce dependence on road transport, improve turnaround time, lower logistics costs, and support environmentally sustainable coal movement.
The commissioning of the Dalmia Railway Siding underscores ECL’s commitment to infrastructure-led efficiency, reliable coal supply, and enhanced rail-based evacuation supporting energy security.
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