THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, APRIL 1, 2026

East Coast Railway (ECoR) has once again consolidated its status as the leading freight handling zone of Indian Railways by achieving an all-time high freight loading of 286.3 Million Tonnes (MT) during the financial year 2025–26. The achievement marks a significant rise of 27 MT compared to 259.25 MT recorded in 2024–25, highlighting the zone’s consistent growth trajectory and operational excellence.

Parallel to the impressive freight volume, East Coast Railway also reported robust growth in freight earnings, generating ₹29,456.60 crore in 2025–26, up from ₹26,691.82 crore in the previous fiscal, reflecting a strong increase of over 10 percent. The performance reaffirms the zone’s dominant contribution to the overall freight business of Indian Railways, accounting for 17.1 percent of the national total freight loading of 1669.9 MT during the year. Notably, this marks the seventh consecutive year that East Coast Railway has surpassed the 200 MT freight benchmark, underscoring sustained leadership in the sector.

The zone continues to play a pivotal role in transporting vital bulk commodities including coal, iron ore, steel, cement, alumina, fertilizers and food grains, supporting critical sectors such as power generation, infrastructure development and core industries that drive economic growth.

East Coast Railway also recorded encouraging progress in passenger operations during 2025–26, carrying 97.64 million passengers and earning ₹2,495.51 crore, compared to 93.52 million passengers and ₹2,371.09 crore in 2024–25. The steady growth in passenger traffic reflects increasing public confidence in railway services, driven by improved punctuality, enhanced safety measures, better cleanliness, upgraded passenger amenities, and expansion of train services aimed at providing a more reliable and comfortable travel experience.

The milestone has been achieved through strong inter-departmental coordination and sustained operational focus across the zone. Improved wagon utilization, enhanced terminal handling capacity, dependable traction power, continuous infrastructure strengthening, adoption of modern signalling systems, proactive customer engagement, and an unwavering emphasis on safety and efficiency have collectively contributed to higher productivity and faster turnaround of freight operations, enabling East Coast Railway to maintain its leadership position in the Indian Railways network.