Indian Railways carried 145.07 million tonnes of freight in October 2026, its highest-ever loading for the month, up 8.32% from 133.93 million tonnes in October 2025, the railways ministry said on Wednesday (November 4).
What drove it
- Food grains: up 26.3%
- Domestic coal: up 16%
- Other goods: up 11%
- Clinker: up 10.4%
- Domestic containers: up 6.3%
- Iron ore: up 5%
- Mineral oil: up 1.9%
- Finished steel: up 0.5%
To meet higher demand from power plants, the railways ran an average of 469.8 coal rakes a day in October, against 393.2 a year earlier, a rise of 19.5%, the ministry said.
The year so far
From April to October, the railways loaded 978.78 million tonnes, up 4.67% from 935.10 million tonnes in the same period last year.
Passenger numbers also grew. The railways carried 64.72 crore passengers in October, against 63.52 crore a year earlier, and 443.8 crore in April-October, against 431.4 crore.
How this compares
The pick-up is clear against last year. In October 2025, freight loading grew just 2.3% to 133.9 million tonnes, and coal loading fell 2.5%, Angel One reported at the time, citing news reports. April-October 2025 growth was 3.1%.
This year, coal has swung from a drag to a driver: domestic coal loading rose 16% in October. The ministry said the higher loading and earnings reflect its efforts to support economic growth and the logistics sector.