Prayagraj: North Central Railway (NCR) has registered a strong growth in freight loading during the first four months of the 2026-27 financial year, transporting 7.24 million tonnes (MT) of cargo between April and July.The figure represents a 7.6% increase over the 6.73 million tonnes recorded during the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Railway officials attributed the growth to higher movement of food grains, cement, petroleum products and container traffic across the zone.According to official data, food grain loading witnessed the sharpest rise, registering a growth of 70.3% during the period. Container traffic increased by 13%, while cement loading rose by 11.6% to reach 1.35 million tonnes, informs senior PRO, NCR, Amit Malviya.The transportation of other commodities also increased by 9.9%, touching 1.88 million tonnes. In addition, the zone handled 2.25 million tonnes of petroleum and oil products.Among the divisions, Prayagraj recorded the most impressive performance, with freight loading increasing by 30.1%. The division handled 2.98 million tonnes of freight, compared with 2.29 million tonnes during the same period last year.The rise was driven largely by a 257% jump in food grain transportation and a 42.9% increase in cement loading.Jhansi division recorded a growth of 3.1%, transporting 3.28 million tonnes of cargo. Food grain loading in the division increased by 26.7%, while the movement of other commodities grew by 14.3%.Likewise, Agra division handled nearly one million tonnes of freight and recorded a remarkable 33.3% increase in container traffic.
