New Delhi, September 13: Indian Railways loaded 137.9 million tonnes of freight in August 2026, up 5.4 per cent from 130.9 million tonnes a year earlier, as the network also expanded passenger connectivity with new train services and cargo terminals.
Freight revenue for the month rose 6.27 per cent over August 2025. Iron ore loading grew 12.1 per cent, clinker 10.4 per cent, domestic container traffic 9.2 per cent and coal 6 per cent, while finished steel rose 4.9 per cent and fertilisers 1.6 per cent, according to the railways ministry.
Five new cargo terminals commissioned
Five new Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals were commissioned during the month, at Shivlakha in Gujarat, Nalli in Tamil Nadu, Shaktinagar in Uttar Pradesh, Deoragram in Madhya Pradesh and Brajrajnagar in Odisha, taking the total number of such terminals to 149 as of 31 August 2026.
More Amrit Bharat trains, higher passenger numbers
Fourteen special Amrit Bharat services were converted into regular trains during August, taking the total to 86. The newly regularised routes connect Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, including Gorakhpur-Bandra Terminus, Gorakhpur-Delhi, Ahmedabad-Bhagalpur and Dhanbad-Coimbatore.
Indian Railways carried 67.27 crore passengers in August 2026, compared with 64.43 crore a year earlier. Suburban traffic grew fastest, up 9.02 per cent to 38.01 crore passengers. The railways also ran 144 trips of Raksha Bandhan special trains between 25 and 31 August, nearly three times the 48 trips run over the same festival period in August 2025.