Indian Railways Freight Revenue Hits ₹14,500 Crore in February on 4% Volume Growth

Indian Railways has reported a steady uptick in freight performance for February 2026, moving 137.72 million tonnes (MT) of cargo and pushing monthly freight revenue to about ₹14,500 crore, up nearly 3% year‑on‑year.

According to Railway Ministry data, freight loading rose 3.96% from 132.48 MT in February 2025, while transport output measured in net tonne kilometres (NTKM) climbed 4.18% to 76,007 million NTKM from 72,955 million NTKM a year earlier. The revenue increase to ₹14,571.99 crore from ₹14,151.96 crore was driven by strong flows in core commodities such as coal, iron ore, finished steel, fertilisers, cement, mineral oil and container cargo.

Daily loading data showed sharp gains in several segments: iron ore rose 27.6% to 0.675 MT, pig iron and finished steel jumped 20.8% to 0.343 MT, and raw materials for steel plants (excluding iron ore) surged 46.9%. Fertilisers, mineral oil and EXIM container traffic each recorded double‑digit growth, with EXIM and domestic containers rising 5.6% and 2.3% respectively during the month.

For the April 2025–February 2026 period, Indian Railways carried 1,503.8 MT of freight, up 3.28% from 1,456.07 MT in the year‑ago span, generating freight revenue of about ₹1.61 lakh crore and reinforcing its role as a backbone for long‑haul cargo and port connectivity.