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Covid-19 crisis drags Indian Railways' freight traffic down 21% in Q1

Its earnings from freight also saw 31 per cent fall to Rs 22,266 crore for the April-June period.

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In April and May, Railways saw subdued freight loading at about 70 per cent of what it was in 2019.

Shine Jacob New Delhi
The Indian Railways’ freight traffic dropped 21 per cent during the first quarter of 2020-21 (FY21) to 241 million tonnes (mt) owing to the lockdown and slowing economic activity. 

Its earnings from freight also saw 31 per cent fall to Rs 22,266 crore for the April-June period. In June, the national transporter handled 93 mt freight, a fall of 8 per cent over the same month in 2019-20 (FY20). The freight earnings for the month also declined 18 per cent to Rs 8,826 crore. 

Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav said freight loading had substantially picked up in June, which