Indian Railways carried 1670 million tonnes (MT) in 2025-26 (FY26), growing 3.25 per cent over the previous financial year 2024-25 (FY25).
The growth follows a steady rise in loading of bulk commodities such as fertilisers, pig iron, finished steel, iron ore and cement.
Number of wagons handled in FY 26 rose to 2,91,86,475 in up 4.56 per cent as against the same period last year (2,79,12,271 wagons in FY 25).
Sectoral growth
Fertiliser loading grew 13.49 per cent year-on-year(yoy) in FY26 while pig iron and steel loading rose 13.11 per cent yoy reflecting robust demand for agriculture inputs and steel industry.
In FY 26, iron ore loading grew 6.74 per cent yoy to 190.12 MT, while cement loading grew by 4.74 per cent to 157.17 MT showing steady growth in infrastructure and construction sectors.
Earnings growth
IR goods earnings grew 1.44 per cent in FY26 at ₹1,77,754 up from ₹1,75,302 crore booked in FY 25. Main contributors to revenue from goods include iron ore at ₹14,600.51 crore, followed by cement at ₹13,599 crore.
Transportation of pig iron and finished steel earned ₹12,181 crore in FY 26. Fertilisers contributed ₹9,039 crore, food grains ₹8,312.5 crore, and mineral oil ₹7,249.54 crore in FY 26.
FY-26 zone-wise loading
Zone-wise performance in FY26 was in line with the sources of origin of goods vis a vis their destination. The zone wise break up is as follows:
Passenger segment
IR conveyed 741 crore passengers in FY 26 as against 716 core in FY25, an increase of 3.54 per cent yoy. Passenger earnings for FY 26 was approximately ₹80,000 crore as against ₹75,500 crore in FY25, up 5.96 per cent due to steady passenger traffic.
