A Parliamentary Standing Committee has urged the Railway Ministry to prepare zone-wise plans to enhance freight traffic in regions with limited mineral movement and industrial activity, according to its ninth report tabled in Parliament on 10 August. The Committee commended efforts to augment network capacity through multitracking, operationalisation of Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFC) and modernisation of yards. It noted that the Ministry has said periodic data-driven assessments are carried out with inputs from Zonal Railways, Divisional Railways and Business Development Units to support policy interventions and incentive schemes.

The Committee asked that the Railways institutionalise a structured annual review of freight rates, accompanied by a comprehensive analysis of commodity-wise demand, market competition, logistics costs and operational expenditure. It noted that the organisation prioritises coal transportation by ensuring availability of rakes and wagons and welcomed facilitation of private investment under the Private Wagon Investment Scheme. The panel also sought clarity on whether the National Coal Logistics Plan and Policy framework will be applied to modernise coal movement through an interconnected multimodal network.

The Committee requested an update on the Public Private Partnership policy for Rail Connectivity and Capacity Augmentation introduced in 2012, which is under revision. It recalled that twelve observations were made in its sixth report on increasing freight related earnings and development of Dedicated Freight Corridors and that the Railway Ministry furnished action taken notes on those points. The latest report contains further comments based on the Ministry responses and recommends urgent operational measures.

The Ministry informed the Committee that the average number of freight trains per day rose from 4,968 in 2021-22 to 6,789 in 2024-25 and said Indian Railways is strengthening feeder routes to ensure seamless movement between major industrial hubs and the DFC network. The Committee emphasised that crew shortages must be resolved to minimise delays and improve throughput, and noted that vacancies of Assistant Loco Pilot (ALP) totalling 28,769 and 6,560 Goods Train Manager roles have been notified in 2024 and 2025, with many ALPs selected against 18,799 advertised posts.