Northern Railway has created a record in freight train speed. An average freight train speed of 31.7 km per hour has been achieved in the first five months of 2026. This is the highest speed achieved in the railway network. Northern Railway said that there has been considerable improvement in freight operations in the first five months of the financial year 2026-27. In this, the speed of the train increased and the freight loading increased.
The Railways said that these achievements demonstrate that Northern Railways continues to focus on improving operational efficiency, strengthening freight connectivity and providing faster, more reliable logistics services in line with the goals of the National Logistics Policy.
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Record loading of 119 rakes in a day
According to the Railways, between April and August, Northern Railway achieved an average freight train speed of 31.7 km/hour. This is the highest in the Indian Railway network. There is also an improvement of 14.07% year-on-year. The average speed including stabling and yarding increased by 4.95% to 18 per hour. The total original freight loading reached 21.71 million tonnes. On June 20, Northern Railway did the maximum loading of 119 rakes in a single day. About 0.245 million tonnes of goods were transported in it.
Goods reaching the country from Kashmir Valley
Rail-based logistics have expanded in the Kashmir Valley. Between April and August, Anantnag Terminal handled 198 inward rakes carrying cement, grain, automobiles, fertilizers and other commodities. The Pampore terminal, which opened on July 17 this year, handled 36 rakes till August.
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Maize from Punjab and organic fertilizer arriving from UP
Railways said that the movement of new goods including jaggery from Moga in Punjab, maize from Jagrawan and fodder from Fazilka to Pampore, besides traffic of private rice and organic fertilizers till Anantnag has been made easier.
According to Railways, during April-August 2026, there has been an increase of 24.98 percent in automobile loading, 5.93 percent increase in fertilizer and 1.30 percent increase in cement. The introduction of scheduled freight service has further helped in reducing transit time. Gati-Vahan Automobile Service reduced transit time by 48%, while Annapurna Foodgrains, Urja POL, Urja Fertilizer and Export Export Container Service achieved reductions of 32%, 37%, 40% and 25% respectively.
Nirman Cement (Kashmir) service has also been started with a transit time of 15.29 hours. Business development units also achieved new freight traffic. Under this, organic fertilizer worth Rs 36.83 lakh from Roja and maize worth Rs 33.31 lakh from Hardoi are included.