Coal loading powers 7.26% rise in rail freight during April-May

Other sectors like cement and fertilisers, too, posted marginal increase in traffic compared to last year

The Indian Railways has posted a 7.26 per cent rise in its freight traffic during April-May this fiscal with coal traffic showing considerable increase because of rise in power demand in the last two months.

During the last two months, the Railways recorded an originating loading of 199.9 million tonne (MT), compared to 186 MT during the same time last year, posting an incremental growth of 13.53 MT. Out of this, coal traffic saw the maximum increase of 17.4 per cent to 101.66 MT as against 86.61 MT during the April-May period of 2017-18. This comes after a rise in