Southern Railway opens clinker loading facility targeting 700,000 tonnes a year

Southern Railway launched a mechanised clinker loading facility at the Kallakudi Palanganatham railway siding in Tamil Nadu on 12 November 2026, opening a rail link for bulk shipments from Dalmia Cement’s Dalmiapuram plant to Meenatchi Cement Works. Southern Railway General Manager U. Subba Rao inaugurated the facility and flagged off the first consignment to the Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal at Nalli. The railway expects the operation to add about 700,000 tonnes to its annual freight loading.

Kallakudi siding connects Dalmiapuram with Nalli cargo terminal

The freight movement links two Southern Railway divisions. Clinker is loaded at Kallakudi Palanganatham in the Tiruchirappalli division and carried to the Nalli terminal, which serves Meenatchi Cement Works in the Madurai division. Clinker is an intermediate product in cement manufacturing. Moving it in bulk by rail connects the producing plant with the receiving works.

The new equipment was installed at an existing industrial siding that has served Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited’s Dalmiapuram plant since 28 May 1963. The plant has an annual cement production capacity of four million tonnes. Tiruchirappalli Divisional Railway Manager Balak Ram Negi and Southern Railway Chief Freight Transportation Manager S. T. Ramalingam attended the inauguration alongside representatives of Dalmia Cement.

Southern Railway projects ₹28.8 crore in annual freight revenue

Southern Railway expects the facility to handle 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes of clinker a month. Sustained over 12 months, that would translate to between 600,000 and 720,000 tonnes, broadly in line with the railway’s estimate of 700,000 tonnes of additional annual freight. It expects the traffic to generate about ₹28.8 crore in annual freight revenue.

The Tiruchirappalli division said the loading facility would support Indian Railways’ Mission 3000, which targets 3,000 million tonnes of freight loading. Indian Railways handled 1,670 million tonnes in 2025–26, according to the Ministry of Railways.

Gati Shakti terminals expand rail access for bulk cargo

The receiving terminal at Nalli forms part of the Gati Shakti cargo terminal programme. Introduced in 2021, the policy encourages private investment in rail-linked cargo facilities on railway and non-railway land. The Ministry of Railways reported that 149 Gati Shakti cargo terminals had been commissioned nationwide by 31 August 2026. Cement is among the industries served by the programme, alongside steel, power and agriculture.

FAQs

Where was the mechanised clinker loading facility launched?

Southern Railway launched it at the Kallakudi Palanganatham railway siding, which serves Dalmia Cement’s Dalmiapuram plant in Tamil Nadu.

Where did the first clinker consignment go?

It was dispatched to Meenatchi Cement Works at the Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal in Nalli, in Southern Railway’s Madurai division.

How much clinker is the facility expected to handle each month?

Southern Railway projects monthly loading of 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes and additional annual freight revenue of about ₹28.8 crore.