Indian Railways invokes force majeure; moves 1 lakh wagons of vital goods in 4 days

March 28, 2020: Indian Railways has invoked force majeure for the period from March 22 to April 14 during which no demurrage, wharfage, stacking, stabling, detention and ground usage charge shall be livable.

In the same time, the railways had moved more than 1 lakh wagons of essential goods from March 23 to 26 in different parts of the country.

“A force majeure (FM) means extraordinary events or circumstance beyond human control such as an event described as an act of god (like a natural calamity)” clarifying that spread of coronavirus should be considered as a natural calamity and force majeure clause may be invoked, ministry of railways has decided that the period from March 22 to April 14 shall be treated under force majeure and none of the following mentioned charges shall arise for this period:- demurrage, wharfage, stacking, stabling, demurrage in case of privately/jointly owned stock, demurrage on parcel traffic, wharfage on parcel traffic, detention charge in case of container traffic, ground usage charge in case of container traffic,” says the release.

Meanwhile, on the four days from March 23 to 26, Indian Railway carried 1.6 lakh wagons carried supplies to keep the supply chains functional. Of these, more than 1 lac wagons of essential commodities were ferried by Indian Railways to ensure that the nation keeps running and the supply chains keep functioning.

(2/2) This has been possible on account of loading around 270 freight trains services in the six day period, signifying the seriousness towards meeting National needs in times of crisis. #IndiaFightsCorona @RailMinIndia @PiyushGoyalOffc pic.twitter.com/oS7zzcjyCN

— SouthCentralRailway (@SCRailwayIndia) March 28, 2020

On March 23, 2020, total 26577 wagons were loaded for essential commodities like food grains, salt, edible oil, sugar, milk, fruits & vegetables, onion, coal and petroleum products. This includes 1168 wagons of foodgrains, 42 wagons of fruits and vegetables, 42 wagons of onions, 42 wagons of sugar, 168 wagons of salt, 20 wagons of milk, 22473 wagons of coal, and 2322 wagons of petroleum products.

On March 24, 2020, a total of 27742 wagons were loaded for essential commodities. This includes 1444 wagons of foodgrains, 84 wagons of fruits and vegetables, 168 wagons of salt, 15 wagons of milk, 50 tanks of edible oil, 24207 wagons of coal, and 1774 wagons of petroleum products.

On March 25, 2020, a total of 23097 wagons were loaded for essential commodities. This includes 876 wagons of foodgrains, 42 wagons of sugar, 42 wagons of salt, 15 wagons of milk, 20418 wagons of coal, and 1704 wagons of petroleum products.

On March 26, 2020, a total of 24009 wagons were loaded for essential commodities. This includes 1417 wagons of foodgrains, 42 wagons of sugar, 42 wagons of salt, 20784 wagons of coal, and 1724 wagons of petroleum products.

“Close coordination is being maintained with the State Governments so that rakes of essential commodities are handled smoothly without any delay, amidst various restriction imposed in the wake of Covid-19. To monitor the uninterrupted movement of essential commodities over Indian Railway system, an emergency freight control is working in the Ministry of Railways. Freight movement is being closely monitored by officials at very senior level,” says the release.