Power-hungry India halts passenger trains to free up track to move coal

FILE PHOTO: A worker unloads coal from a goods train at a railway yard in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh July 8, 2014. REUTERS/Ajay Verma

CHENNAI, India (Reuters) - India has boosted the output of coal and cancelled passenger trains to free up rail track to move it, officials said on Friday, as the government scrambles to overcome its worst power crisis in years.

State-run Coal India, which accounts for 80% of India's coal output, increased production by 27.2% in April, the federal coal ministry said. Federal government-run Indian Railways has cancelled 753 passenger train services, the government said.