The Ministry of Railways recently released data related to freight train operations in India. The data showed that use of rail for freight transportation has been increasing year-on-year and touched 5 lakh rakes during financial year 2022-23. Data put out by the Ministry showed 504,601 rakes were operated in 2022-23.
Sharing the Railways’ data, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Encouraging numbers, indicating our strides in logistics and economic momentum.”
In April 2023, the Indian Railways recorded monthly freight loading of 126.46 million tonnes – a 4.25 MT and 3.5% growth over April 2022. Freight revenue in April was recorded 7% higher at INR 13,893 crore as compared to Rs 13,011 last year.
Out of this, coal loading was recorded at 62.39 MT in April 2023 as compared to 58.35 MT in April 2022, followed by 14.49 MT in iron ore, 12.60 MT in cement, 9.03 MT in balance other goods, 6.74 MT containers, 5.64 MT steel, 5.11 MT food grains, 4.05 MT mineral oil and 3.90 MT in fertilizers.
Railways has consistently strived to enhance the convenience of conducting business and improve the delivery of services at cost-effective prices. Consequently, railways have observed an influx of new traffic from both conventional and non-traditional commodity streams.
