Indian Railways carried 145.07 million tonnes of freight in October, its highest ever for the month and 8.32% more than the 133.93 million tonnes of October 2025.
The Ministry of Railways said growth was led by foodgrains, up 26.3%, and domestic coal, up 16.0%. Other categories also rose: "balance other goods" by 11.0%, clinker by 10.4%, domestic containers by 6.3%, iron ore by 5.0%, mineral oil by 1.9% and finished steel by 0.5%.
Coal for power plants
To meet power stations' needs, the railways supplied an average of 469.8 coal rakes a day in October, against 393.2 a year earlier, a rise of 19.5%.
The year so far
From April to October of FY 2026-27, the railways loaded 978.78 million tonnes, compared with 935.10 million tonnes in the same period last year, a growth of 4.67%.
Passengers
The railways carried 64.72 crore passengers in October, up from 63.52 crore in October 2025. Between April and October they carried 443.8 crore passengers, against 431.4 crore a year earlier. The non-suburban segment grew 4.2% and the suburban segment 1.7%.
The release does not give freight earnings figures for the month.
Source: official release by the Ministry of Railways, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (04 NOV 2026 11:30AM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: Indian Railways Registers Freight Loading of 145.07 Million Tonnes in October 2026.
How we verified this
VerifiedEvery fact, figure and quotation is taken from the official PIB release (Release ID 2332375) issued by the Ministry of Railways on 04 NOV 2026 11:30AM by PIB Delhi; checked against the source on publication. Story written by BDT from that release; no outside facts added.
Sources
- 1.Indian Railways Registers Freight Loading of 145.07 Million Tonnes in October 2026 — Press Information Bureau, Government of India
