The Indian Railways has reached a historic milestone by achieving its highest-ever freight loading. In January, a record-breaking loading of 142.7 million tonnes was achieved, reflecting a notable 6.5% year-on-year growth, a PIB press release revealed. With this, Indian Railways remains a crucial facilitator of transportation, playing a pivotal role in driving essential economic activities.
Achieving record-breaking freight loading
This unprecedented loading accomplishment was made possible through simultaneous efforts in enhancing capacity. A total of 476 kilometres of track was commissioned across 25 sections, compared to 308 kilometres across 20 sections last year. It is crucial to note that the achievement was realised despite challenging adverse weather conditions, which included an extended duration and widespread geographical presence of fog.
This accomplishment is a result of the government’s broader vision to significantly boost capacity augmentation, introduce new rolling stock, prioritise enhancements in operational efficiencies, and engage in business development activities to explore new traffic streams.
Freight loading figures
From April 2023 to January 2024, the cumulative freight loading reached 1297.38 million tonnes, surpassing the previous year’s loading of 1243.46 million tonnes by approximately 53.92 million tonnes. Railways generated revenue of Rs 140,623.4 crore, an improvement of around Rs 5,235.30 crore compared to the same period last year.
In January 2024 alone, the originating freight loading reached 142.70 million tonnes, showing a notable increase of approximately 6.43% from the 134.07 million tonnes loaded in January 2023. Freight revenue for January 2024 amounted to Rs. 15,514.82 crore, reflecting a 4.06% improvement over January 2023’s freight earnings of Rs 14,908.82 crore.
Specifically, Indian Railways achieved loading figures of 71.45 million tonnes in coal, 17.01 million tonnes in iron ore, 6.07 million tonnes in Pig Iron and Finished Steel, 7.89 million tonnes in Cement (Excl. Clinker), 5.52 million tonnes in clinker, 4.53 million tonnes in foodgrains, 5.27 million tonnes in fertilisers, 4.31 million tonnes in mineral oil, 6.98 million tonnes in containers, and 10.20 million tonnes in balance other goods during January 2024.