Pariksha SaathiIndian Railways Posts 6.14% Rise in Freight Loading in September 2026, Led by Food Grain and Clinker
Indian Railways loaded 135.35 million tonnes of freight in September 2026, up 6.14% from 127.52 million tonnes in September 2025, the Railway Ministry said on 13 October 2026. Among major commodities, food grain loading grew the fastest, by 25%, followed by clinker (20%), domestic containers (10%), coal (9%), other goods (8.2%), mineral oil (6%), finished steel (5.5%) and iron ore (5.2%). The railways also stepped up coal supply to power houses, running an average of 443 rakes a day in September 2026 against 397 a day a year earlier, an 11.6% rise. Freight revenue for the month rose by ₹1,266 crore over September 2025, a 9.3% increase. For the first half of 2026-27 (April-September), cumulative freight loading crossed 833.7 million tonnes, up 4.1% year-on-year, with freight revenue up 3.7% over the same period last year.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
India’s first passenger train ran on 16 April 1853, between Bori Bunder in Bombay and Thane, operated by the Great Indian Peninsula Railway — more than a century and a half before today’s freight-loading figures.
Reference: Indian Railways Fan Club Association (IRFCA) — history of Indian Railways
Check yourself: did India’s first railway line carry freight or passengers first?
Passengers — the Bori Bunder-Thane line that opened on 16 April 1853 was a passenger service; regular freight and goods traffic on Indian railways developed and expanded in the decades that followed.
Revision task: from this release, separate the month’s loading figure (135.35 million tonnes, a monthly flow) from the cumulative April-September figure (833.7 million tonnes), and keep both apart from the standing 1853 founding fact above.
Test yourself
Which commodity's loading grew fastest, by 25%, in Indian Railways' freight in September 2026?
Show the answer
Answer: Food grain
Food grain loading rose 25%, ahead of clinker (20%), domestic containers (10%) and coal (9%); total freight loading was 135.35 million tonnes, up 6.14% on September 2025.
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