North Central Railway Registers Impressive 7.6% Freight Loading Growth with 7.24 Million Tonnes in April–July 2026

Prayagraj : North Central Railway (NCR) has delivered an outstanding performance in freight operations during the first four months (April to July) of the financial year 2026–27. Demonstrating sustained operational efficiency, the zone loaded 7.24 million tonnes (MT) of freight, registering a 7.6% growth compared to the 6.73 MT achieved during the corresponding period last year. With this performance, NCR has already met 31.5% of its annual freight loading target of 22.98 MT within just one-third of the fiscal year.

A commodity-wise breakdown reveals extraordinary expansion across key sectors:

Food Grains: Surged by a record 70.3%, driving agricultural logistics.

Containers: Grew by 13.0%, reinforcing industrial supply chains.

Cement: Expanded by 11.6% to reach 1.35 MT.

Petroleum & Oil (POL): Accounted for 2.25 MT in total freight volume.

Other Commodities: Rose by 9.9% to touch 1.88 MT.

At the divisional level, Prayagraj Division spearheaded the growth with a remarkable 30.1% overall rise in freight loading, jumping from 2.29 MT to 2.98 MT. This performance was fueled by a staggering 257% boom in food grain loading and a 42.9% rise in cement movement. Jhansi Division posted a steady 3.1% growth, moving 3.28 MT of cargo, backed by a 26.7% gain in food grains. Meanwhile, Agra Division loaded approximately 1.0 MT, highlighted by a sharp 33.3% jump in container shipments.

NCR's sustained emphasis on optimizing rake availability, streamlining logistics ecosystems, and speeding up freight corridor transit times continues to drive strong freight revenues for Indian Railways.

(Report by Zainul Abdin)