Mission 3000 still on track: Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on freight growth

Amid criticism from the sector on the slow pace of freight loading of the Indian Railways, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the ministry’s flagship cargo vision — Mission 3000 — is still on track and there will be major increases in freight volumes, going forward.

 

Under the mission, the government wants to achieve 3,000 million tonnes (mt) of cargo on railways by 2030.

 

“Mission 3000 is still very much in sight. There are projects, which when completed, bring a quantum jump in cargo. For example, when the Sonnagar-Andal quadrupling project is completed, there will be a quantum jump in loading. Similar would be the case with several other projects. This was a sector which was neglected in the past. Now, we are investing Rs 2.5 trillion every year,” Vaishnaw said at a conference in New Delhi. 

 

The ministry is slated to cross 1600 mt of cargo for the first time in its history this financial year. But it would need to nearly double its output over the next five years to meet its targets under Mission 3000.

 

After the Budget was presented on Saturday, sector watchers said that freight growth has been subpar. This comes after the ministry made a downward revision to its freight loading estimates by 15 mt to 1,635 mt for the current financial year.

 

This target is set at 1,700 mt for 2025-26, which is 4 per cent higher over the revised estimates of FY25.

 

After Covid brought the national transporter to a temporary halt, the ministry had seen double-digit freight growth every year, crossing important milestones such as 1,500 mt along the way.

 

Freight growth is expected to rise by a mere 2.9 per cent in the current financial year.

 

According to Vaishnaw, several bottlenecks in the network will be removed to bring speed to the freight movement on railways.

 

The minister also said the government has allocated over Rs 2,500 crore for Delhi in the FY26 railways Budget.

 

The government will also introduce six hydrogen trains and is also working on Namo Bharat trains which will be partly non air-conditioned, the minister said.