The Railway Board has set a freight loading target of 1,702.5 MnT for the financial year 2025–26, according to an official circular issued on 8 April 2025. The target reflects a 5.2 per cent increase over the 1,617.38 MnT achieved in FY25. The East Coast Railway (ECoR) zone has received the highest target of 275 MnT, up from 259 MnT in FY25. ECoR has led all zones in freight loading for five consecutive years, largely due to coalfields in Talcher, ports such as Paradeep and Vizag, and mines in Keonjhar and Bailadila.

Other major zones and their targets include: South East Central Railway (SECR): 263 MnT, East Central Railway (EC): 221 MnT, South Eastern Railway (SER): 218 MnT, and South Central Railway (SCR): 150 MnT. Commodities driving rail freight include coal, steel raw materials, cement, foodgrain, petroleum, and containers.

Zones with lower targets include: - Southern Railway (SR): 43 MnT - North Western Railway (NWR): 30 MnT - Konkan Railway (KRCL): 2.5 MnT - Coal continues to account for over 50 per cent of total freight, making mineral-rich regions critical to the railway’s revenue growth.

Source: PTI

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