Rail freight traffic surpasses that in last fiscal despite Covid: Piyush Goyal

Freight movement during the initial 3 months of lockdown period was seven crore tonne less as compared to the corresponding period of the last financial year, he said

Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal. Credit: PTI File Photo

Freight movement through Railways during the current financial year till now is higher than the previous year's traffic despite Covid, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said here on Monday.

He said the total freight movement from April 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021 is 110 crore tonne which is higher than the same in the corresponding period of the last financial year.

The freight movement during the initial three months of the lockdown period was seven crore tonne less as compared to the corresponding period of the last financial year, he said.

However, it later gained momentum, he added. Stating that the total freight movement in 2019-20 was about 1,200 million tonnes, Goyal hoped that the Railways would exceed it by the end of March 2021.