Indian Railways Freight Loading Rises 9% to 141.3 Million Tonnes in July

Indian Railways loaded 141.3 million tonnes of freight in July 2026, up 9% from 129.7 million tonnes a year earlier, the Ministry of Railways said, as reported by Business Standard and The Statesman on August 3, 2026. The higher volumes generated an incremental Rs 1,137 crore in freight revenue over July 2025, an 8% increase.

Growth was broad-based: iron ore loading rose 22.2%, coal and foodgrains both climbed 11.5%, fertiliser loading increased 12%, and miscellaneous goods grew 12.1%. Coal supply to thermal power plants rose 20% year-on-year as electricity demand stayed strong.

Performance varied by zone, with East Central Railway and Eastern Railway each posting a 33% jump in freight revenue, West Central Railway up 23%, and South Eastern Railway up 10.33%. The Ministry attributed the gains to sustained demand across core economic sectors and improved logistics efficiency.

The figures extend a period of steady freight growth for Indian Railways, which has been investing in dedicated freight corridors and additional rolling stock to capture a larger share of India's bulk and container traffic from road transport.