Railways Ferries 67.27 Crore Passengers in August, Freight Up 5.4%
Indian Railways carried 67.27 crore passengers in August 2026, up from 64.43 crore a year earlier, with suburban travel rising 9% and freight growing 5.4%.
Indian Railways carried 67.27 crore passengers in August 2026, up from 64.43 crore in the same month last year, as the national transporter continued to expand services and add capacity to meet travel demand.
Suburban services accounted for a large share of the growth. Local trains carried 38.01 crore passengers during the month, compared with 34.89 crore in August 2025 — a rise of about 9 per cent. Suburban rail remains a lifeline in densely populated urban centres, where a large number of commuters depend on the network for affordable daily travel.
Festival specials and new services
To handle the Rakshabandhan rush, the Railways ran 144 trips of Rakshabandhan Special trains between August 25 and 31, 2026, well above the 48 trips operated between August 8 and 14, 2025. The extra services gave travellers more options during a period when many people head to their hometowns to be with family.
The transporter also rolled out new Amrit Bharat services aimed at affordable long-distance travel between major cities and regional centres. In addition, seven special trains were regularised as Amrit Bharat services: Subedarganj–Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Gorakhpur–Bandra Terminus, Gorakhpur–Delhi Jn, Ahmedabad–Bhagalpur, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus–Prayagraj Jn, Prayagraj Jn–Udhna Jn and Dhanbad–Coimbatore.
Freight network expands
On the freight side, five new Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals were commissioned in August 2026, taking the total number of such terminals to 149 as on August 31. The new terminals are located at Shivlakha in Gujarat, Nalli in Tamil Nadu, Shaktinagar in Uttar Pradesh, Deoragram in Madhya Pradesh and Brajrajnagar in Odisha. The expansion is intended to improve rail connectivity for industry and strengthen the country's logistics network.
Indian Railways moved 137.9 million tonnes of freight during the month, against 130.9 million tonnes in August 2025, a year-on-year increase of 5.4 per cent. Demand from coal, iron ore, steel, fertilisers and other key sectors drove the higher volumes. Freight revenue rose 6.27 per cent over the same month last year.