Most Common Coal Transportation Methods Across The Globe

Coal is very essential in modern-day industries. They produce power for energy plants and fuel the nation’s growth. Hence, it is crucial to deliver coal in time so that work does not halt. Depending on the location, the mode of transportation is chosen to deliver coal. Mentioned below are a few common transportation modes used around the globe for transporting coal: 

Railroads 

The most common mode of transportation used even by industry leaders like the KCT & Bros. (Coal Sales) Ltd. is rail transportation. It is ideal when coal needs to be delivered over long distances. Trains have lots of carriers that can easily carry a huge amount of coal. Additionally, they are one of the fastest modes of transportation available and take very little time to deliver it from one place to another. Hence, choosing the railroad as the preferred choice of transportation for transporting coal proves to be a very economical option as well. 

On-highway trucks 

If the destination is not very far and the amount is not very big, on-highway trucks are a very convenient mode of transportation. The large trucks use public roads to transport coal to its destination. However, these are comparatively smaller trucks that can carry payload not exceeding 25 tons. The biggest advantage these have over railroad is that the maintenance cost of trucks is very low and a truck can easily be replaced by another one if it fails. Hence, the total capital investment is comparatively much lesser.  

Barges 

For decades, water bodies have been used to transport goods over short distances. In many nations across the globe like the US, Germany, France, Netherlands, etc., rivers and lakes have been pivotal to people for delivering goods. The expenditure strictly depends on the number of barges carried by one towboat. The number may vary depending on the dimensions of the water body. This is one of the most cost-effective methods for transporting coal. 

Conveyors 

Conveyors are not used for carrying coal from producers to consumers over long distances. Rather, they are used for transporting coal from the mines to barge-loading areas. These are also used for delivering coal to the power plant stockpile located close to a mine. People prefer conveyors because they can move seamlessly on rough terrains as compared to on-highway trucks. Also, conveyors can transport a huge amount of coal at a time.

The coal industry is growing and many innovative methods are being used to transport more amount of coal within a shorter period of time. Slurry pipes are a very efficient method and used only in a few countries. However, it faces a few shortcomings, and entrepreneurs like Varun Thapar believe that more research is required to make them more efficient.

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Created on Feb 22nd 2021 08:01. Viewed 261 times.

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