A steady rise in freight activity propelled Indian Railways’ earnings from goods to ₹14,571.99 crore in February, reflecting a 2.97% annual increase over ₹14,151.96 crore. The Ministry of Railways shared these encouraging stats on Friday, offering insights into operational health.
Freight volumes expanded 3.96% to 137.72 MT against 132.48 MT last year. NTKM, a key efficiency indicator, rose 4.18% to 76,007 million from 72,955 million, demonstrating optimized capacity use.
Breakdown by commodities reveals iron ore’s dominance: daily loading up 27.6% to 0.675 MT. Raw iron and finished steel gained 20.8% to 0.343 MT. Raw materials for steel plants (excluding iron ore) surged 46.9% to 0.141 MT. Fertilizers increased 10.2% to 0.184 MT, and mineral oils with container EXIM traffic advanced 17.8%.
Strong trends persisted in monthly aggregates for leading goods. Containers saw imported traffic rise 5.6% and domestic 2.3%. Fiscal year-to-date (April 2025-Feb 2026), freight totaled 1,503.8 MT, exceeding last year’s 1,456.07 MT by 3.28%. Revenues stood at ₹1.61 lakh crore, NTKM at 840,000 million—1.62% higher.
These developments align with government initiatives like Gati Shakti, enhancing rail’s share in national logistics. With rising demand from steel, power, and agriculture sectors, Railways is well-positioned for sustained expansion.