Indian Railways has achieved a major achievement in strengthening the country’s economy. According to the report of Ravi Singh, Railways has crossed the figure of 1 billion tonnes in freight transportation in the financial year 2025-26. Till November 19, a total of 1020 million tonnes of goods had been transported. The largest cargo was coal – 505 MT followed by iron ore 115 MT, cement 92 MT, container traffic 59 MT, pig iron and steel 47 MT, fertilizers 42 MT, mineral oil 32 MT, grains 30 MT, and raw materials of steel plants about 20 MT. The remaining goods remained 74 MT.
About 4.4 MT goods are being loaded every day, which is more than last year. Between April and October 2025, Railways loaded 935.1 MT, which was 906.9 MT in the same period last year.
Target of 150 million tonnes
Earlier, South East Central Railway (SECR) had also done wonders. According to ETV report, this year 2025-26, 150 million tonnes of goods were loaded in just 216 days. This is an example of the hard work and better planning of the Railways. By rapidly transporting heavy goods like coal, steel, cement, SECR has provided strong supply to the power plants and factories of the country. If we look at the past years, it is clear that the Railways is becoming faster every year.
The target of 150 million tonnes in FY 2022-23 was achieved in 265 days. In 2023-24 the same work was done in 244 days. It took only 226 days in 2024-25 and now the record has been made in just 216 days in 2025-26.
Earning from freight transportation in financial year 2024-25
At the same time, Indian Railways has created a new record in terms of freight transportation in the financial year 2024-25. Railways had so far transported 1,465.371 metric tons of freight in the 11 months of the financial year 2024-25, which was more than 1,443.166 metric tons in the entire 12 months of the financial year 2023-24. Let us tell you that this information has been given from the latest data released by the Railway Ministry. Indian Railways has set a target of carrying 3,000 metric tonnes of freight by 2027. Indian Railways earns much more from freight transportation and about 65% of its total income comes from freight trains. Among these, coal, iron ore and cement are the biggest sources.
These three together contribute more than 60% of the total freight revenue. That is, the more coal reaches the power house, the more iron and steel plant goes and the more cement reaches the construction site, the more the Railways’ pockets are filled. Therefore, if freight traffic increases, the coffers of the Railways automatically get filled and the economy of the country improves.
