East Coast Railway has reported rail freight loading growth of over 29 per cent in FY 2021-22 against the goods carried for the same period in FY 2020-21.
In a statement, ECoR has said that it has already crossed freight loading of 100 million tons for the current financial year till 10th September 2021. 100.30 million tons of freight was carried by the zone in the period. 77.58 million tons of freight was loaded by the zone in the same period last year. The zone also reports having exceeded its target of 95.09 million tons for the same duration.
In the first 10 days of September 2021, ECoR has loaded 13% more freight 6.01 million tons against the same period last year. The zone had managed 5.30 million tons between 1st and 10th September 2020.
Revenue earned from haulage of this traffic was not specified.
The high growth numbers for the current year are also likely due to the low base of last year. Indian Railways freight loading was severely hit in the first few months of FY 2020-21 as the COVID-19 lockdown stalled economic activity.
ECoR Freight Loading Breakup
| Type of Product | Volume (in million tons) |
| Coal | 55.28 |
| Raw Material for Steel Plants | 3.66 |
| Iron & Steel | 9.62 |
| Iron Ore | 14.62 |
| Cement | 0.57 |
| Foodgrain | 1.41 |
| Fertilizer | 2.43 |
| Petroleum Products | 1.07 |
| Container Freight | 1.87 |
| Other Cargo | 10.14 |
Division-Wise Breakup
| Division | Volume (in million tons) |
| Khurda Road | 67.19 |
| Waltair | 28.24 |
| Sambalpur | 4.83 |
According to East Coast Railway, steel and aluminium plants, ports and mines are major contributors to freight loading for the zone.