Indian Railways
Indian Railways is expanding its freight network, carrying 1,670 million tonnes in 2025-26 (Financial Express, 17 Sept) and now past 150 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (Financial Express, 16 Sept). The Vande Bharat Freight EMU is still in technical evaluation with no commercial launch date (Financial Express, 13 Sept).
What it means FMCG and retail suppliers face a rail option that lowers their dependence on road freight.
Latest moves
Our read of each move first, where we have one; what the report said is marked Reported.
Background
From 5 stories, the newest dated 28 Sept 2026. Summary written 2 Oct 2026.
Indian Railways is a rail transport system carrying freight and passengers, with freight services supporting the movement of goods for retailers and suppliers.
Show 2 more paragraphs and 5 sources
It is expanding routes, multitracking and dedicated freight corridors to increase goods capacity, lower logistics costs and reduce transit delays. [1] source: Financial Express[2] source: ET Small Business
In September 2026, Indian Railways reported that it had commissioned its 150th Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal nationwide, alongside five terminal projects in Gujarat. [3] source: Financial Express It also said it would monitor food preparation, packaging and supply in East Central Railway pantry cars and base kitchens using AI-enabled CCTV cameras 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. [4] source: ET Small Business Indian Railways carried 1,670 million tonnes of freight in 2025-26 and set an annual freight-loading target of 3,000 million tonnes by 2030. [1] source: Financial Express In September 2026, it trialled a Vande Bharat Freight EMU at 130 kmph on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route for parcel and other cargo; the service remained under technical evaluation and had not been commercially launched. [5] source: Financial Express
Sources
Questions about Indian Railways
What is the latest on Indian Railways in Indian retail?
In September 2026, Indian Railways said it would monitor food preparation, packaging and supply in East Central Railway pantry cars and base kitchens with AI-enabled CCTV cameras 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. [4] source: ET Small Business
More stories about Indian Railways
- Indian Railways’ OSOP network tops 2,300 outlets, delivers Rs 162 crore in local-product sales
- Indian Railways moves to single nationwide licence for container train operators
- Indian Railways’ Vande Bharat freight EMU hits 145 kmph in trials
Stories that mention Indian Railways
4 stories
Indian Railways is named in these stories but is not their subject.
- Amazon India adds daily parcel rail service on Western Dedicated Freight Corridor
- IRCTC fines food licensees ₹5.13 crore, terminates six contracts over quality violations
- IRCTC CMD Sanjay Kumar Jain exits July 20 after Navratna-status tenure
- Maruti Suzuki crosses 30 lakh rail dispatches; trains now move 26.5% of cars