South Western Railway records highest-ever freight loading in July
South Western Railway (SWR) registered its highest-ever freight loading for the month of July, handling 4.69 million tonnes (MT) of originating freight, an increase of
South Western Railway (SWR) registered its highest-ever freight loading for the month of July, handling 4.69 million tonnes (MT) of originating freight, an increase of 11.7% over the 4.2 MT recorded in the corresponding month last year. According to a press statement issued by SWR, the zone’s cumulative freight loading during the financial year 2026-27 up to July stood at 17.19 MT, compared with 16.27 MT during the corresponding period of the previous financial year, registering a growth of 5.7%. The cumulative loading is the highest achieved by the zone up to July since its inception. The iron ore remained the largest freight commodity, with July loading increasing to 1.97 MT from the previous year’s level, a growth of 22.4%.
The steel loading rose by 20.6% to 1.05 MT, while loading of balance of other goods (BOG) increased by 32.5% to 0.22 MT. The mineral oil loading stood at 0.22 MT, up 10.3%, while container traffic reached 0.88 MT. Foodgrain loading during the month was 0.01 MT. For the period from April to July 2026, the iron ore loading stood at 6.84 MT, followed by steel at 3.71 MT and coal at 3.43 MT. The mineral oil loading increased to 0.83 MT, BOG to 0.89 MT, container traffic to 0.34 MT and cement loading to 0.14 MT. The foodgrain loading rose to 0.07 MT, registering the highest percentage increase among all commodities.
The zone earned a gross revenue of ₹793.31 crore during July, compared with ₹754.01 crore in July 2025, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 5.21%. The freight revenue, the largest contributor, stood at ₹449.27 crore, up 6.49% from the corresponding month last year. Passenger earnings rose to ₹303.54 crore, an increase of 6.01%, while the zone carried 14.76 million passengers during the month, registering a growth of 3.51%. The parcel revenue stood at ₹15.30 crore, while other coaching revenue amounted to ₹25.21 crore. Sundry revenue was ₹15.29 crore, including commercial sundry earnings of ₹5.84 crore. Ticket-checking drives detected about 46,000 cases during the month, generating ₹4.54 crore. During the financial year up to July 2026, SWR recorded gross revenue of ₹3,031.84 crore, compared with ₹2,987.55 crore during the corresponding period last year, registering a growth of 1.48%.
The freight revenue during the period stood at ₹1,650.32 crore, while passenger revenue increased by 13.2% to ₹1,203.73 crore from ₹1,063.39 crore in the previous year. Passenger traffic rose to 61.56 million, an increase of 4.18%. The ticket-checking earnings during the four-month period increased to ₹23.33 crore from ₹22.54 crore a year earlier. The parcel revenue also rose to ₹58.70 crore from ₹56.86 crore.
The BriefWire