The Ministry of Railways has commissioned 142 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (GCTs) across the country so far, with in-principle approvals granted for 310 additional locations, the government told the Lok Sabha.
Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, responding to questions in the lower house, said the existing terminals have a combined freight handling capacity of 224 million tonnes per annum and have drawn private investment of roughly Rs 10,000 crore. During 2025-26, these terminals together handled 146 million tonnes of freight.
What the Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal policy does?
The GCT policy was introduced to encourage private players to set up cargo terminals linked to the rail network, with locations chosen based on industry demand, cargo traffic potential, existing railway infrastructure and the broader logistics needs of a region. The terminals are designed to handle a mix of commodities, including cement, steel, foodgrains, fertilisers, coal, fly ash, minerals, containers, automobiles and agricultural produce.
According to the ministry, the push has particularly benefited sectors such as cement, steel, power, mining, agriculture, logistics and manufacturing by giving them better rail connectivity and modern loading infrastructure. Officials said the terminals have helped cut first-mile and last-mile logistics costs, improved wagon turnaround times and encouraged a shift of freight traffic from road to rail.
State-wise rollout of Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals
The reply gave a state-wise breakup of the terminals. Odisha leads with 12 commissioned GCTs and in-principle approvals for 36 more locations, including sites in Jagatsinghpur, Jharsuguda, Jajpur, Sundargarh, Cuttack and Sambalpur districts. A proposal for a terminal at Porjanpur in the Keonjhar Lok Sabha constituency is currently under consideration.
Rajasthan has 10 commissioned terminals, spread across districts including Pali, Nagaur, Udaipur, Chittorgarh, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Baran, Bhilwara, Ajmer and Jaipur, with 15 more locations at the approval stage.
Andhra Pradesh has five commissioned terminals, including one at Tummalacheruvu in Palnadu district that began operations on January 31, 2023, and handled 1.214 million tonnes of freight in 2025-26. Another terminal is under construction in the same region. The state has 14 additional locations with in-principle approval.
Bihar and Madhya Pradesh have five commissioned terminals each, with eight and 19 locations respectively awaiting further approval in the two states. In Bihar, terminals have come up in Begusarai, Samastipur, Darbhanga, Khagaria and Buxar districts. The ministry noted that no proposal for a terminal at Narkatiaganj in Bihar has been received from industry so far, and a similar situation exists in Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh.
Karnataka has four commissioned terminals, with 18 more locations holding in-principle approval.
Broader Impact of Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals
The ministry said the policy has also enabled the creation of allied infrastructure such as warehousing, silos and cold storage facilities near production and consumption centres, which it said has improved market access for local industries and farmers while supporting regional employment generation.