<p data-path-to-node="5" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="5" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">NEW DELHI</b> — Driven by strong domestic demand across heavy industry and a steady diversification into containerized and non-bulk cargo, Indian Railways registered a 5.4% year-on-year increase in freight loading for August 2026, hauling 137.9 million tonnes (MT) compared to 130.9 MT recorded during the same period in 2025.</p><p data-path-to-node="6" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Official operational metrics released by the Ministry of Railways confirm that freight revenues expanded at an even faster clip than volume, climbing 6.27% year-on-year. The top-line momentum was underpinned by sustained dispatch schedules for primary energy feedstocks, raw metals, and intermediate manufacturing inputs, alongside reduced turnaround times across core electrified routes.</p><p data-path-to-node="8" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="12" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Commissioning of Five New Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (GCTs)</b></p><p data-path-to-node="13" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">To address first- and last-mile logistics friction—historically the most significant barrier to long-haul rail adoption—the national transporter formally commissioned five new Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals during August, bringing the cumulative network of operational GCTs across India to <b data-path-to-node="13" data-index-in-node="287" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">149 terminals</b> as of August 31, 2026.</p><p data-path-to-node="14" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">The five newly activated terminals are situated across key industrial and natural resource nexuses:</p><ul data-path-to-node="15" style="padding-inline-start: 32px; font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="15,0,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="15,0,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Shivlakha (Gujarat):</b> Built to streamline industrial salt, mineral, and heavy manufacturing flows exiting the Kutch hinterland toward western consumption nodes.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="15,1,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="15,1,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Nalli (Tamil Nadu):</b> Designed to support Southern Railway’s industrial freight corridors, linking local textile, engineering, and manufacturing clusters directly with coastal ports.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="15,2,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="15,2,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Shaktinagar (Uttar Pradesh):</b> Positioned within the Singrauli-Sonbhadra coal basin to expedite bulk energy evacuation and reduce railyard dwell times.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="15,3,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="15,3,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Deoragram (Madhya Pradesh):</b> Dedicated to bulk mineral and cement loading, minimizing regional road drayage along central transit arteries.</p></li><li style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><p data-path-to-node="15,4,0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="15,4,0" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Brajrajnagar (Odisha):</b> Integrated with the Ib Valley coalfields to provide high-speed automated loading loops for heavy coal rakes heading to power plants.</p></li></ul><p data-path-to-node="17" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><b data-path-to-node="17" data-index-in-node="0" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">Network Capacity and Passenger Operations</b></p><p data-path-to-node="18" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">The infrastructure additions coincided with strong network-wide traffic numbers. Indian Railways carried <b data-path-to-node="18" data-index-in-node="105" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;">672.7 million passengers</b> during August 2026—a 5% year-on-year increase—bolstered by a 9.02% surge in suburban commuter rail transit, which handled 380.1 million passengers. To maintain network fluidity during peak seasonal demand without compromising scheduled freight paths, the transporter operated 144 trips of festival special trains while formally regularizing 14 Amrit Bharat services into scheduled timetables, bringing the total number of regular Amrit Bharat services to 86.</p><p data-path-to-node="19" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;">Ministry officials underscored that the simultaneous expansion of the GCT footprint and Dedicated Freight Corridor utilization is steadily reducing national logistics costs, providing commercial shippers with fixed-schedule predictability and direct-to-rail industrial access.</p><div class="attachment-container unknown" style="font-family: &quot;Google Sans Text&quot;, sans-serif !important; line-height: 1.15 !important;"><response-element class="no-md" ng-version="0.0.0-PLACEHOLDER" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><!----><follow-up _nghost-ng-c3076333695="" class="lm-enabled ng-star-inserted" style="line-height: 1.15 !important;"></follow-up></response-element></div>