Indian Railways registered the highest ever freight figures in terms of both loading and earnings in the financial year 2020-21. According to a statement released by the Railway Ministry, the national transporter's total freight loading was 1232.63 million tonnes in fiscal 2020-21, 1.93 per cent higher, compared to the corresponding period last year. The previous year's figure for the same period was recorded at 1209.32 million tonnes. Along with loading, the railway authorities earned a sum of Rs 117386.0 crores in fiscal 2020-21, through freight loading, three per cent higher, compared to the same period last year. (Also Read: Indian Railways Freight Loading Up 10% To 112 Million Tonnes In February )
The previous year's earning figure through freight loading was registered at Rs 113897.20 crore. The Railway Ministry added that the national transporter's freight loading was 130.38 million tonnes in March 2021, registering a growth of 27.33 per cent. Subsequently, through freight loading, Indian Railways earned a sum of Rs 12,887.71 crore last month, which is 26.16 per cent higher, compared to the corresponding month's earnings in the previous fiscal. The national transporter earned Rs 10215.08 crore in March 2020.
As per official data, Indian Railways maintained the momentum of the highest ever freight loading for seven conductive months between September 2020 - March 2021. With few routes of the dedicated freight corridor opening up, Indian Railways has also registered a notable increase in the speed of freight trains on the existing network. Last month, the average speed of freight train was recorded at 45.6 km per hour, which is almost 83 per cent more, compared to 24.93 km per hour in the corresponding period of previous fiscal, according to the Railway Ministry.