East Indian Railway: 1906 History of the EIR - Chapter XVI
Note: This is a sub-section of the East Indian Railway
The History of the East Indian Railway by George Huddleston. Published 1906 by Tracker, Spins and Co
CHAPTER XVI. GROWTH OF THE COAL TRAFFIC.
NOTHING in the history of the East Indian Railway has been more remarkable than the growth of the coal traffic during the past 15 years. Up to the year 1889 few had recognised its immense possibilities, and there was certainly no idea of a great export trade setting in, while internal requirements were comparatively small and restricted almost entirely to the needs of railways. There seems to have been at the outset a good deal of prejudice on the part of those who had previously burnt Welsh coal, and particularly on the part of the engineers of the larger steamship companies, against the introduction of Bengal coal in its place; these prejudices were only overcome by degrees, but once a start had been made the import of coal from the United Kingdom was doomed.
In the first half of the year 1885, more than 45,000 tons of Welsh coal were imported into Calcutta, during the first half of 1889 the quantity imported dropped to less than 1,000 tons, and an export trade then started, principally in bunker coal for the use of the steamers of the British India Steam Navigation Company, which extended even more rapidly than the most sanguine anticipated. In 1890 the growth of the export of Bengal coal from Calcutta first attracted serious attention, though in proportion to the total downwards traffic the export figures were still comparatively small. Rangoon was the port which at first took the largest quantity; Bombay, which is now the largest taker of Bengal coal, adhering very largely to the Welsh product until some years afterwards.
In 1891 the want of facilities for dealing with a large coal traffic were recognised. The Traffic Manager, Mr. J. Rutherford, commenting on the expansion which would follow the opening up of numerous mines in the coalfields adjacent to Asansol and Sitarampur and of the Jherriah field, an extension to which was then about to be started, remarked that "we have neither the wagon stock nor the terminal accommodation required for such an accession to our traffic," and strongly advocated the construction by the Railway Company of special jetties and loading machinery at a point on the river below the Botanical Gardens, to which he proposed a short branch line should be run from Bally Station, a few miles above the Howrah terminus.
The upwards coal traffic was also growing, the different railways in the North-West, Oudh and Punjab were consuming more, though the use of coal for domestic purposes was nominal, and in places like Cawnpore, which was rapidly becoming the internal centre of commercial enterprise, wood was still burnt extensively in preference.
In the year 1893 the export trade from Calcutta had grown to about 250,000 tons, and towards the close of the year, the Kidderpore Docks, constructed for the receipt of ordinary merchandise, were first brought into use for loading export cargoes of coal. It was, however, anticipated that the docks would not at all meet the requirements of the trade, and that if the rapidly growing business was to be dealt with there, considerable additions would be needed, while the railway approaches would also have to be improved. The opening of the docks to export coal traffic at once brought the Jubilee Bridge over the Hooghly into use; previous to this time it had been more or less a white elephant, for very little business of any kind had been done at the docks.
In the second half of 1892 about 189,000 tons of all classes of traffic were carried over the bridge, in the second half of 1893 the weight rose to 345,000 tons, of which two-thirds were coal.
In 1894 there was a still further advance in the export coal trade, and General Sir Richard Strachey forecast, in an address to the shareholders of the Company, what the future was likely to be: "There is no possible reason," he remarked, "why the whole of the coal now exported from England, whether required on land, or for consumption at sea east of Aden, should not be replaced by Indian coal."
By 1895 the Toposi and Jherriah colliery branches were partially opened and immediately there followed a great accession of traffic, new mines were opened out in all directions and it became a difficulty for the engineers to keep pace with the demands for sidings to the different collieries. From this time onward the coal traffic increased by leaps and bounds, and it was in the export trade that the increase was most noticeable; in 1891 the export trade of Calcutta amounted to 137,000 tons, in 1896 it had risen to 574,000 tons, in 1901 to 1,995,000 tons, and in 1905 to 2,767,000 tons. It would be tedious to attempt to traverse the great difficulties in working a traffic which had expanded so suddenly; the shortness of stock, the inadequate terminal facilities, the congestion on the line owing to the want of engine power and of proper marshalling yards and so forth had all to be overcome, and nothing could be done sufficiently quickly to materially ease the position.
Many schemes were put forward, many proposals discussed, and throughout the time of greatest trial, the Home Board not only save strong support to the efforts of the staff m India, but continuously pressed on the Government the crying need for more wagons, more sidings, better facilities and so forth, but relief was only too tardily granted in some cases and declined altogether in others. Addressing the shareholders in June 1897, General Sir Richard Strachey said:—
"There can be little doubt that the Bengal coal trade has a great future before it, and that its increasing requirements will demand constant attention and a further considerable development of the means of transport and facilities for shipping for export. I cannot think that the export of coal on a large scale, and I would remind you that it has already risen to more than half a million of tons in the half-year, can be conveniently or economically carried on from docks designed to meet the requirements of the ordinary export and import trade of a commercial centre like Calcutta. It is therefore in my opinion a matter of regret that a more comprehensive view of this question has not been taken and that arrangements have not been made, as was proposed by the Board some years ago, for establishing a system of coal export, more closely following what experience, on a very large scale in this country, has shown to be best suited for this special class of business. The wisdom of the policy of extending the coal lines in Bengal, to which the Board have been able to give effect by constructing the Jherriah and Toposi branches, is now fully established, and the new collieries on them are already contributing not far from a million tons a year to the traffic of the undertaking."
In subsequent addresses General Sir Richard Strachey referred, over and over again, to the pressing needs for better facilities and for more rolling stock, and over and over again defended the management of the railway against the not infrequent attacks of the mercantile community, whose complaints of want of wagons, or of blocks of traffic, resulting, as they alleged, in loss of business, were at the time common.
At a meeting of the shareholders held in December 1901, the Chairman spoke very plainly, and his words, which proved most prophetic, are worth quoting. He said:—
"As the coal owners of Bengal are among the moat persistent of those who exclaim against the management of the East Indian Railway, and of the want of attention paid to their interests, I will venture to call their attention to the following statement of the present value of the coal properties in Bengal, properties that, as I have already said, have been entirely created by the initiative of the railway, and the continued prosperity of which has been ensured by equally constant attention to their requirements. The extremely low rates at which coal has been carried on all Indian railways for the last ten years is also due to the action of the East Indian Railway; the opening out of the Jherriah coalfield, which was opposed by the Government of India, was at last sanctioned by an appeal to the Secretary of State by the Board."
Present value of shares in Bengal Coal Companies (Paid up / Quotation)—
- Adjai - Rs.100 / Rs.250-255
- Bengal- Rs.1,000 / Rs.3,150
- Bengal-Nagpur - Rs.10 / Rs.301
- Borrea - Rs.100 / Rs.155
- Barrakur - Rs.100 / Rs.125
- Equitable - Rs.100 / Rs.262
- Katras-Jherriah - Rs.10 / Rs.401
- New Beerbhoom - Rs.100 / Rs.179
- Reliance - Rs.100 / Rs.190
"I have no wish," he added, "to be a prophet of evil, but there is an opinion afloat, which seems deserving of serious attention, that the very rapid development of the coal trade, accompanied, as it has been, by this remarkable inflation of values, may be the forerunner of a season of speculative mining enterprise, and of over production, in excess of the growing requirements of the public."
Within a year of the time these words were spoken their truth became apparent, the output of the collieries became much larger than a market could be found for and share quotations declined with a run. Fortunately the check was only a temporary one, and lost ground was soon regained.
Nothing, however, will better illustrate the rapid growth of the coal traffic than the following brief statement, shewing the weight carried and the earnings during periods separated by five years:—
Year. / Total coal traffic (Tons) / Up. (Tons) / Down. (Tons) / Exported. (Tons) /Total earn. (Rs.)
- 1889 - 1,404,711 / 303,910 / 1,100,801 / not available / 64,26,921
- 1894 - 2,144,382 / 486,768 / 1,677,614 / 297,000 / 79,51,472
- 1899 - 3,897,596 / 630,544 / 3,267,052 / 1,136,000 / 135,29,681
- 1905 - 6,142,264 / 1,260,740 / 4,881,524 / 2,767,000 / 202,44,250
These figures speak for themselves, and call for no comment beyond the remark that they are an eloquent testimony to the part played by the East Indian Railway Company. In the early days of development allusion was often made to the undertaking having what was termed a monopoly of the transport, and it was clearly intimated that such a monopoly was prejudicial to development. The Board of Directors naturally took exception to such views, unsupported as they were by facts, and in 1894 expressed their opinion very clearly in the following words
"A monopoly that is used to keep up prices to the detriment of trade cannot be too strongly deprecated, but such a necessary monopoly as that enjoyed by the East Indian Railway, in respect of the traffic over its own line, conducted on the principle of reducing the rates to a minimum and of working in the most economical manner, is a positive advantage to the public, and to destroy it by introducing any intermediate agency, which could only lead to additional unnecessary expenditure would be an act of folly. The conditions under which the traffic of the East Indian Railway is conducted render excessive charges impossible, and the well-known facts of the case clearly chew that the Board have made very important reductions of charge, which may reasonably be taken to indicate that their policy is a liberal one and that they intend to persevere in it so far as they are able."
"The Board have seen with much satisfaction that the downward coal traffic has responded in a very marked manner to the reductions already made in the tariff. It is their firm conviction that, by judicious arrangements, the traffic may be brought into a condition that will admit of further important reductions of charge, and, unless obstacles are put in their way, they look forward to practical effect being given to this anticipation."
The point of these remarks seems to be that, whatever detractors may say, there is no getting over the fact that the interests of the Railway Company and of the trade are identical; and that the Railway Company has done all in its power to foster and develop the coal traffic of Bengal is clearly proved by results.
During the past six years the raisings of Bengal coal have increased from four to seven million tons annually and the trade generally has never been so prosperous as at the present time. But it is not only by reducing rates, and by opening up the coalfields adjacent to its main line, in the Asansol and Barrakur Districts, that the East Indian Railway Company has assisted in developing the great traffic it now carries.
There was still another field within its territory, namely the Daltonganj field in the Sasseram District, 150 miles nearer the north-west than the coalfields of Bengal proper. This field was also opened up by the East Indian Railway Company and now forms an additional source of supply. Although it has not, so far, proved of any great value, still its opening goes to prove that the Company has at heart the interests of the public.
For some years the coal traffic has been of such importance to the East Indian Railway that an annual report on its principal features is submitted to the Home Board. It need only be added that in every direction efforts are made to comply, as fully as possible, with the wishes of the coal owners for modifications of the traffic arrangements that they regard as likely to be beneficial, but difficulties in the way can only be overcome by degrees, however willing the management may be to carry them through.
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