In a notable development, Indian Railways (IR) has achieved 634.66 million tonnes (mt) freight loading during April-August period of 2023-24. This is nearly 14 mt higher than the freight loading of 620.88 mt in the corresponding period in 2022-23. The loading of iron ore in the said period stood at 70.84 mt which is 15.56 per cent more than 61.30 mt achieved in the corresponding period of 2022-23. Meanwhile, pig iron and finished steel loading is 28.42 mt, fertiliser loading is 24.13 mt, cement loading is 63.29 mt, loading of container services is 34.31 mt, POL loading is 20.59 mt, and coal loading is 311.53 mt. In addition to this, automobile transportation by rail has shown a growth of 26 per cent whereas earnings from automobile has shown a jump of 24.5 per cent.
In August 2023, IR loaded 126.95 mt against 119.33 mt in August 2022, a growth of 6.38 per cent. Meanwhile, the revenue in April-August period of 2023-24 stands at nearly Rs 1 trillion which includes revenue from freight segment, passenger segment and other sundry revenue.
Meanwhile, IR has witnessed the highest ever capital expenditure utilisation of 48 per cent in the April-August period of 2023-24. Expenditure to the tune of Rs 1,150 billion has been made till August 2023. The investment has been made in various infrastructure projects like new lines, doubling, gauge conversion and enhancing passenger amenities. Given that safety of the passengers is paramount in railways, significant sum has been invested in enhancing the safety related works. The capex utilisation is nearly 54 per cent higher in comparison to the corresponding period in 2022-23.