Indian Railways’ freight growth speeds up to 8.3% year over year in October

Indian Railways’ freight growth speeds up to 8.3% year over year in October Indian Railways freight loading rose 8.32% year over year to 145.07 million tonnes in October 2026, which the Ministry of Railways describes as the best October on record. A year earlier, in October 2025, the network loaded 133.93 million tonnes. The ministry released the October freight and passenger figures on November 4. Food grains and domestic coal post the largest gains Food grain loading rose 26.3% from October 2025, and domestic coal climbed 16.0%. Among the other commodity groups the ministry listed, the “balance other goods” category increased 11.0%, clinker 10.4%, domestic containers 6.3%, iron ore 5.0%, mineral oil 1.9% and finished steel 0.5%. The ministry tied the higher domestic coal volumes to increased requirements at power plants. Coal deliveries to power stations averaged 469.8 rakes, or full trainloads, a day in October 2026, up 19.5% from 393.2 a day a year earlier. April–October loading reaches 978.78 million tonnes Over the first seven months of fiscal year 2026-27, from April through October, Indian Railways loaded 978.78 million tonnes of freight. That compares with 935.10 million tonnes in the same months of fiscal 2025-26, an increase of 4.67%. Based on the ministry’s seven-month and October figures, April–September loading works out to 833.71 million tonnes, against 801.17 million tonnes a year earlier, a gain of about 4.1%. October’s 8.32% rise was roughly double that pace. Passenger traffic rises in October Passenger numbers also increased. Indian Railways carried 647.2 million passengers in October 2026, compared with 635.2 million in October 2025. From April through October, ridership totaled 4.438 billion passengers, up from 4.314 billion a year earlier, with non-suburban traffic up 4.2% and suburban traffic up 1.7%.