The railway official also advised TGGENCO to explore alternative coal suppliers, saying that SCCL may not be able to meet future demands as the plant scales up.
Published Jul 08, 2025 | 12:51 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 08, 2025 | 12:51 PM
Railways transporting coal. (Wikimedia commons)
Synopsis: South Central Railway is ready to supply additional coal to Yadadri Thermal Power Station’s Unit I, which becomes operational this month. Track doubling is underway to support future demand of 12–14 rake loads daily by December 2025. TGGENCO has urged to the contractors to complete pending siding works, while railway official asked the TGGENCO to consider alternate coal sources, as SCCL may not meet full future requirements.
The South Central Railway has expressed readiness to move additional coal using the existing railway network to the Yadadri Thermal Power Station (YTPS)’s Unit I (800 MW capacity) in Dameracherla in Nalgonda district, which is going to be operationalized this month itself.
The railways are also taking up doubling of railway lines between Dornakal – Bhadrachalam and Motamarri – Vishnupuram to handle additional coal requirements.
The Telangana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (TGGENCO) has already commissioned Unit II of the YTPS in January 2025. The remaining three units (3×800 MW) will be commissioned by February 2026. The total requirement of coal for all five units will be 50,000 tonnes per day from Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), which translates to about 12 to 14 rake loads.
The TGGENCO has earlier constructed a railway line from Janapahad take-off point to YTPS site, investing ₹500 crore. At present, South Central Railway is supplying four rake loads of coal per day to YTPS, and the requirement will be around 12 to 14 rake loads from December 2025.
The railways gave the assurance at a meeting of the railway officials and TGGENCO on Monday, 7 July. At the meeting, the status of the construction of the railway siding at the YTPS and preparedness for the movement of 12 to 14 rakes when the need arises were reviewed, an official release said.
The TGGENCO officials have asked the contractors to complete all pending works of the railway siding.
SCR Principal Chief Operations Manager K Padmaja said that the railways were fully prepared to move the required quantity of coal to the YTPS with the existing network, besides getting to the job of doubling the railway tracks between Dornakal to Bhadrachalam Road and Motamarri to Vishnupuram.
She also advised TGGENCO to explore alternative coal suppliers, saying that SCCL may not be able to meet future demands as the plant scales up.
The Yadadri Thermal Power Station (YTPS) is designed to deliver a total capacity of 4000 MW through five units, each generating 800 MW. Located strategically in Nalgonda District, the power station benefits from proximity to railway infrastructure, facilitating coal transportation from domestic sources like the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).
The YTPS project has come a long way after weathering several storms. There were controversies galore, including alleged flawed EIAs, environmental clearance suspensions, land acquisition disputes, cost overruns, procedural irregularities, migrant worker protests, and a political blame game ever since the foundation stone was laid for it in 2015 after the advent of the TRS (now BRS) government in the newly created state of Telangana.
Environmental activists and NGOs have consistently challenged the project’s ecological impact, while local communities demanded fair compensation.
Financial mismanagement allegations and political shifts have further complicated the narrative, with the Congress and BRS trading accusations over delays and costs. The Congress, in opposition until November 2023, lashed out at the BRS government’s inept handling of YTPS, calling it unviable due to its distance from coal mines and delays in completion.
After coming to power in 2023, the Congress tried to use YTPS to address Telangana’s power deficit rather than shutting it down. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy inaugurated Unit-2.
Former Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao defended YTPS as a state-driven initiative to resist private sector lobbying, stressing its its role in making Telangana power-sufficient. He laid the foundation stone on 8 June, 2015.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
