Railways carried total 405.54 million tonnes (MT) of freight traffic during April-August 2012 as compared to 389.09 MT carried during the same period last year, showing a rise of 4.23 per cent, a Railway Ministry data said.
Railways transported 78.43 MT in August and earned Rs 6328.28 crore from freight traffic.
Out of the total earnings of Rs 6328.28 crore in August, Rs 2537.70 crore came from transportation of 36.69 MT of coal, followed by Rs 620.84 crore from 9.21 MT of iron ore for exports, steel plants and for other domestic users, Rs 551.57 crore from 7.52 MT of cement, Rs 597.09 crore from 4.22 MT of foodgrains and Rs 409.31 crore from 3.83 MT of petroleum oil and lubricants.
The national transporter earned Rs 397.90 crore from 2.95 MT of pig iron and finished steel from steel plants and other points, Rs 427.08 crore from 4.29 MT of fertilisers, Rs 111.55 crore from 1.26 MT of raw material for steel plants except iron ore, Rs 293.32 crore from 3.31 MT by container service and Rs 381.92 crore from 5.15 MT of other goods.
