New Delhi, Mar 6 (UNI) Strong growth in the transportation of steel, iron ore and fertilizers helped Indian Railways earn freight revenue of about Rs 14,571 crore in February 2026.
Indian Railways carried 137.72 million tonnes of freight during the month, registering a growth of 3.96 per cent compared to 132.48 million tonnes in February 2025.
Freight revenue rose to Rs 14,571.99 crore from Rs 14,151.96 crore in the same month last year, recording a growth of 2.97 per cent.
Transport output measured in Net Tonne Kilometres (NTKM) also increased to 76,007 million NTKM in February 2026 from 72,955 million NTKM a year ago, showing a growth of 4.18 per cent.
Core sector commodities such as coal, iron ore, finished steel, fertilizers, cement and container traffic continued to drive freight movement during the month.
Among key commodities, iron ore loading increased by 27.6 per cent to 0.675 million tonnes, while pig iron and finished steel rose by 20.8 per cent to 0.343 million tonnes.
Raw materials for steel plants, excluding iron ore, grew by 46.9 per cent to 0.141 million tonnes, while fertilizer loading increased by 10.2 per cent to 0.184 million tonnes.
Mineral oil traffic rose by 17.8 per cent to 0.172 million tonnes, and container EXIM traffic also increased by 17.8 per cent to 0.251 million tonnes.
In monthly cumulative performance for February, fertilizer loading grew by 27.7 per cent to 5.396 million tonnes, while clinker traffic increased by 20.1 per cent to 6.508 million tonnes.
Pig iron and finished steel loading rose to 6.237 million tonnes, while iron ore traffic increased to 16.370 million tonnes.
Container EXIM traffic grew by 5.6 per cent to 5.432 million tonnes and domestic container traffic rose by 2.3 per cent to 2.015 million tonnes.
During the current financial year from April 1, 2025 to February 28, 2026, Indian Railways transported 1,503.80 million tonnes of freight, up 3.28 per cent from 1,456.07 million tonnes in the same period last year.
Freight revenue during this period reached Rs 1,60,987 crore compared to Rs 1,58,539.86 crore last year, showing a growth of 1.54 per cent.
Total freight movement during the period stood at 840,000 million NTKM, registering a growth of 1.62 per cent over the previous year.
Indian Railways said it continues to strengthen freight logistics through capacity expansion, better terminal infrastructure, dedicated freight corridors and digital freight management systems to support economic growth and reduce logistics costs.
