Indian Railways freight revenue jumps 11% to ₹14,798 cr in June, check details

Indian Railways' freight loading increased 10% year over year to 135.46 tonnes in June 2024, according to official data released on Tuesday. Freight loading was at 123.06 million tonnes in June last year.

In terms of value, freight revenue in June 2024 soared to ₹14,798.11 crores, an 11.1% jump from ₹13,316.81 crores in the corresponding month a year ago.

"During June 2024, originating freight loading of 135.46 MT has been achieved against loading of 123.06 MT in June 2023, which is an improvement of approx 10.07% over the last year," the Railways said in the statement.

The various commodities, the Indian Railways transported in June 2024, are as follows:

The Indian Railways also said that, following the mantra “Hungry for Cargo,” the organisation has made perennial efforts to improve the ease of doing business and enhance service delivery at cost-effective prices. The statement further reiterated that a customer-centric approach and the work of business development units have helped to achieve these significant results.

The Indian Railways' freight volumes shrank year-on-year for the first time since the pandemic in June 2023. Their 123 million tonnes in June 2023 were 2% less than in June 2022.

Before that, Indian Railways’ freight volumes had experienced consistent YoY growth for the past 36 months, following a sharp decline between March 2020 and July 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Freight volumes in June 2023 decreased primarily due to low coal transportation, which comprises 50% of the national transporter’s freight volumes and revenue. The demand for coal was affected by unseasonal rains, Cyclone Biparjoy, and the cessation of work and review in many sections of the railways following the major Balasore mishap.

However, this year saw a spike in the demand for coal, driven by multiple heatwaves and record-high temperatures across various parts of the country.