Railways' April-October freight revenue up 9 per cent at Rs32,216 crore

Indian Railways' revenue earnings from freight traffic rose 9.0 per cent to Rs32,216.25 crore during April-October 2009 from Rs29,555.92 crore during the corresponding period of the previous year.

Railways carried 501.28 million tonnes of commodity freight during April-October 2009, up 7.12 per cent from the 467.97 million tonnes of freight carried during the corresponding period of the previous year, a government release said.

The net tonne kilo metres (NTKM) rose 9.18 per cent to 330,278 million during April-October 2009 from 302,518 million in April-October 2008.

Out of the total earnings of Rs4,801.95 crore from commodity-wise freight traffic during October 2009, Rs1,811.55 crore came from transportation of 32.08 million tonnes of coal, followed by Rs773.14 crore from 11.94 million tonnes of iron ore for exports, steel plants and for other domestic user, Rs426.75 crore from 7.46 million tonnes of cement, Rs328.85 crore from 2.92 million tonnes of foodgrains, Rs270.35 crore from 3.31 million tonnes of petroleum oil and lubricant (POL), Rs265.82 crore from 2.45 million tonnes of pig iron and finished steel from steel plants and other points, Rs336.36 crore from 4.52 million tonnes of fertilisers, Rs69.32 crore from 0.90 million tonnes of raw material for steel plants except iron ore, Rs203.07 crore from 2.54 million tonnes by container service and Rs316.74 crore from 5.34 million tonnes of other goods.