Indian rail October 2026 update: 12 wagon rakes ordered, coal freight records and new double-stack services

Freight: coal loading rises 22.5% in October Indian Railways reported a 22.5% year-on-year increase in coal loading during the first 18 days of October, equivalent to 87 additional wagon rakes per day. During the first half of the 2026/27 financial year, the railway dispatched an average of 430 coal rakes daily to thermal power plants, up 7.1%. Total freight loading reached 135.35 million tonnes in September, an increase of 6.14% year-on-year. Domestic container traffic grew 10%, coal 9%, iron ore 5.2% and finished steel 5.5%. Cumulative freight loading for April–September reached 833.7 million tonnes, up 4.1%. CONCOR orders 12 rakes of container wagons Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) placed an order worth approximately EUR 8.2 million with Indian Railways' Golden Rock Workshop in Tiruchirapalli. The contract covers 12 rakes of BLSS container wagons with BVCM brake vans. The value includes taxes but excludes components supplied directly by CONCOR. The order follows a separate September contract worth approximately EUR 8.4 million for another 12 BLSS wagon rakes from Jamalpur Locomotive Workshop, bringing the two recent procurements to 24 rakes. DP World expands double-stack operations from JNPA DP World announced two double-stack container rail services linking Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPA) near Mumbai with inland terminals in northern and western India. The first, operating since September, connects JNPA with Pali/Rewari, Jhattipur–Panipat and Modinagar in the National Capital Region. The second connects the port with ICD Sachana near Ahmedabad. Both use the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, which was fully commissioned in September 2026. CONCOR also launched containerised cement movements between Khemli near Udaipur and Whitefield in Bengaluru in partnership with JK Cement. The operator dispatched its first rake carrying Honda motorcycle containers from its Kathuwas multimodal logistics park in Rajasthan. Chhattisgarh: 95 km railway reaches Rowghat iron ore mines Indian Railways commissioned the final 17.5 km section between Taroki and Rowghat on 20 October, completing the 95 km Dalli Rajhara–Rowghat railway. The approximately EUR 150 million project provides access to the Rowghat iron ore deposits and is intended to support raw-material transport to the Bhilai Steel Plant. The line forms the first phase of the planned 225 km Dalli Rajhara–Jagdalpur railway. A further 22 km of converted broad-gauge railway between Abhanpur and Kurud also opened in Chhattisgarh. New 2,052 km dedicated freight corridor under study Indian Railways continued planning the proposed 2,052 km Dankuni–Surat East–West Dedicated Freight Corridor during October. The Railway Board is examining the alignment through West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, including its connections with industrial centres and existing railway infrastructure. The project was announced in the 2026/27 national budget. Detailed project reporting and preparatory work are underway, but no main construction contract has been awarded. Jupiter Wagons and PESA sign rolling stock cooperation agreement Indian wagon manufacturer Jupiter Wagons signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Poland's PESA on 23 October. The companies will examine cooperation in passenger rolling stock manufacturing, technology transfer and component localisation, covering metro, regional and higher-speed trainsets. The agreement represents Jupiter Wagons' planned diversification beyond freight wagons and railway components. No rolling stock orders or production commitments have been announced. Indian supplier wins Transnet sleeper contract in South Africa GPT Infraprojects announced on 1 October that its South African subsidiary, GPT Concrete Products, had won a contract worth approximately EUR 36 million from Transnet Freight Rail. The five-year agreement covers the manufacture and supply of concrete railway sleepers from GPT's facility in Ladysmith, KwaZul…