Indian Railways achieved 4% year-on-year growth in freight loading to 142 million tonnes in June, driven primarily by coal and fertiliser segments. According to officials, the national transporter's freight loading in the April-June quarter grew 1.46%, with total goods carriage reaching 419 million tonnes during the first three months of FY27. The performance reflects the national transporter's continued focus on expanding its freight operations across various commodity segments.
Within the commodity mix, fertiliser cargo showed strong growth of 19.1%, while miscellaneous goods increased by 17.4%. Iron ore volumes grew 9.4%, coal rose 3.6%, and steel cargo expanded 2.5%. However, imported coal cargo declined approximately 5% to 8.2 million tonnes. As reported by officials, Indian Railways increased domestic coal supplies to power plants by 7% in June compared with the corresponding month last year due to higher thermal power demand during the extended summer season. Cement, containers and foodgrain volumes declined on a year-on-year basis in June, reflecting varied demand patterns across different industrial and agricultural sectors.
The increased freight loading generated incremental revenue of ₹430 crore in June over the corresponding month last year, representing 3% growth. According to ministry estimates, Indian Railways carried 638 million passengers in June, compared with 623 million in the same month last year. The passenger growth included 3.9% increase in non-suburban travel (300 million compared with 289 million in June last year), while suburban passenger traffic grew 0.9%. This performance demonstrates the transporter's ability to generate revenue from both freight operations and passenger services during the quarter.
The Railways has set an ambitious target of increasing freight loading to 3,000 million tonnes by 2031. The mixed performance across different commodity segments reflects the varied demand patterns across India's industrial and agricultural sectors. The transporter's focus on expanding freight operations while maintaining passenger services positions it well for achieving its long-term growth targets, with the current quarter's performance showing steady progress toward these ambitious objectives.
