Iron ore, coal transport push Sept Railway freight up 9.7% to 116 mn tonnes

FY23 auto freight grows 72% as automakers switch to rail

Owing to a revival in Iron Ore transportation and increased coal supply, Indian Railways carried 115.8 million tonnes (mt) of goods and raw materials in September, achieving a year-on-year growth of 9.7 per cent.

Sequentially, freight business shrunk by close to 4 mt, amid unstable monsoons and lower demand for coal. However, for the first time in this financial year, iron ore freight saw an annual increment after months of contraction or muted growth as industry struggled with production.

Iron ore, the second largest commodity in the national transporter's freight basket, grew by 10 per cent (1.2 mt) from the previous financial year.

"The cumulative freight loading from April 1, 2022 to 30th September 2022 has been  736.68 mt as against 668.86 mt achieved in 2021-22 i.e. an incremental loading of 67.83 mt, with a growth of 10.14 per cent over the same period last year," the ministry of railways said.

Meanwhile, the national transporter's efforts to diversify its freight basket and become the preferred transporter for finished goods are bearing fruit. Continuing its steady growth, loading of miscellaneous goods grew by 14 per cent in September, as compared to the previous year.

Experts opine that the gradual shift of the auto sector from roadways to railways to transport vehicle units will continue to benefit the national transporter going forward. Some 2,712 rakes have been loaded in FY 2022-23 till September as compared to 1,575

rakes during the same period of last year — a growth of 72.2 per cent, according to ministry data.

Approximate estimates would put automobile freight at close to 4.6 lakh units so far this fiscal year.

Moreover, the Centre looks to avoid a power crisis, like the one that unfolded this time last year. Coal transported for the power sector saw a 17.3 per cent (6.2 mt) growth against last year. So far in this fiscal, coal freight for the power sector has seen a growth of nearly 30 per cent (64 mt).

Railways earned Rs 1.43 trillion from freight Operations last fiscal year, much of which is used to subsidise passenger services.

Commodity	Loading (in million tonnes)	Growth (in %)
Coal	48.6	14
Cement and Clinker	11.8	3.4
Petroleum products	3.5	8.2
Fertiliser	4.1	7.9
Domestic containers	1.4	6.1
Miscellaneous goods	8.5	14.1
Iron ore	11.11	10.2

Source: Ministry of Railways