Indian Railways achieved its highest-ever freight loading for October 2026, transporting 145.07 million tonnes (MT) of cargo, compared to 133.93 MT in October 2025, registering an impressive year-on-year growth of 8.32 per cent, the Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday.
The strong performance was supported by growth across several major commodity segments. Food grains loading recorded the highest growth of 26.3 per cent, followed by domestic coal at 16 per cent, Balance Other Goods at 11 per cent, clinker at 10.4 per cent, domestic containers at 6.3 per cent, iron ore at 5 per cent, mineral oil at 1.9 per cent and finished steel at 0.5 per cent.
Responding to increased demand from power plants, Indian Railways significantly ramped up domestic coal transportation during the month. It supplied an average of 469.8 rakes per day in October 2026, against 393.2 rakes per day in the corresponding month last year, registering a growth of 19.5 per cent.
The October performance builds on the positive momentum recorded during the first seven months of FY2026-27. Between April and October 2026, Indian Railways loaded 978.78 MT of freight, compared to 935.10 MT during the corresponding period of the previous financial year, marking a growth of 4.67 per cent.
Passenger Traffic Also Registers Growth
Alongside freight operations, Indian Railways reported steady growth in passenger traffic during October 2026. The national transporter carried 64.72 crore passengers during the month, compared to 63.52 crore in October 2025.
During the April-October period of FY2026-27, passenger numbers reached 443.8 crore, up from 431.4 crore in the corresponding period last year.
The Non-Suburban passenger segment registered growth of 4.2 per cent, while the Suburban segment recorded an increase of 1.7 per cent.
The latest figures underline the continued growth in Indian Railways’ freight and passenger operations, with increased cargo movement across key commodity segments and higher coal transportation to meet the requirements of the power sector.