Indian Railways reports record 1.67 billion tonne freight loading in FY26
- IBEF
- April 2, 2026
Indian Railways has registered a new high in freight loading, carrying 1.67 billion tonnes of freight in the current financial year, marking an increase of 3.25% compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. The strong growth in freight traffic has been driven by a strong increase in the movement of key core sector commodities, including fertilizers, which registered an increase of 13.49%, followed by pig iron and finished steel, which registered an increase of 13.11%, iron ore, which registered an increase of 6.74%, and cement, which registered an increase of 4.74%. In addition, the number of wagons handled has registered an increase of 4.56% to 2,91,86,475, which indicates strong network throughput. Though the national transporter has marginally missed the target of 1,700 million tonnes in the current financial year, the strong performance in the current year only goes to reiterate the importance of Indian Railways in the country’s logistics landscape in the movement of bulk commodities, which are the lifeblood of the country’s economy.
The freight revenue continued its upward trend over the year. In respect of the period between April 2025 and February 2026, the freight revenue was at Rs. 1.61 lakh crore (US$17.42 billion), while it was at Rs. 1.59 lakh crore (US$17.20 billion) in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. The high freight rate is being sustained through various initiatives for capacity augmentation, including dedicated freight corridors, Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals, digital freight management systems, and integration of various modes of logistics, which have been providing greater reliability and reducing logistics costs for industries. Indian Railways has set a high tone for its prospects with its projection of a high freight loading of 1,765 million tonnes in FY27. The sustained high rate of increase in freight traffic is likely to further boost India's supply chain resilience and infrastructure-led growth strategy.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.
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