Central Railway posts record freight haul, Nagpur division leads with 20.31 MT

Central Railway's freight operations have posted strong growth this year. In the first five months of financial year 2026-27, from April to August 2026, Central Railway moved a total of 34.48 million tonnes of goods through 13,058 rakes.

The exercise brought in Rs 3,461.92 crore to Central Railway's coffers. During the same five-month period last year, the figure stood at Rs 3,346.80 crore, showing higher earnings this time.

In the same period last year, 32.10 million tonnes of freight had been moved using 12,369 rakes. This means tonnage grew by more than 7 percent, while the rake count was also higher by 689.

The Nagpur division led the way in this overall tally. Between April and August 2026, the Nagpur division alone carried 20.31 million tonnes of freight, accounting for 58.90 percent of total loading. The Mumbai division came next, moving 8.56 million tonnes, or 24.83 percent.

The Nagpur division also topped the earnings chart. The division earned Rs 2,072.73 crore, which is 59.87 percent of total revenue. The Mumbai division's share stood at Rs 800.49 crore, or 23.12 percent.

Coal topped the list of commodities carried, at 17 million tonnes. It was followed by containers at 4.33 million tonnes, petroleum products at 2.91 million tonnes, cement at 2.82 million tonnes and iron and steel at 2.29 million tonnes. Automobile loading also rose to 451 rakes, up from 357 rakes in the same period last year.

August 2026 was a particularly notable month for Central Railway. During the month, 6.85 million tonnes of freight were carried through 2,567 rakes, the highest loading for the month of August in the past 10 years. In August 2025, by comparison, 5.61 million tonnes had been moved using 2,315 rakes, meaning tonnage grew by more than 22 percent and rakes by 252.

Freight loading in August earned Rs 684.78 crore, more than 17 percent higher than Rs 583.69 crore earned in the same month last year. The Nagpur division was again the biggest contributor that month, with 4 million tonnes of loading and Rs 404.86 crore in revenue.

Central Railway said work is continuing to strengthen its freight business further by expanding infrastructure and terminal capacity, easing the movement of goods and introducing new kinds of freight traffic.

At an event in Gujarat on September 8, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off, via video conferencing, a double-stack long-haul freight train run by an electric locomotive from JNPT.