---
title: "Rail freight in India: DFCs, rakes and the truck at each end · SSL"
description: "Indian Railways loaded 1,617 MT in FY2024-25. The Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors (2,843 km) mapped, with first and last mile by road."
url: https://safeandsecure.in/rail/
canonical: https://safeandsecure.in/rail/
updated: 2026-11-11
lang: en-IN
publisher: Safe & Secure Logistics Private Limited
---

Rail atlas

# Steel lines. Truck at both ends.

India’s freight corridors, and the road legs that make a rake useful.

[WhatsApp our desk](https://wa.me/917506245557?text=Hi%20SSL%2C%20I%20want%20to%20move%20by%20rail.%20From%3A%20___%20To%3A%20___%20Tonnes%2Fcontainers%3A%20___) [Get a quote](https://safeandsecure.in/ship/quote/)

Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors. India boundary per Survey of India (state layer: DataMeet, CC BY 4.0). Moving marks are illustrative.

- 1,617 MT freight loaded by rail FY2024-25 · PIB
- 1,670 MT loaded in FY2025-26 +3.25% · PIB
- 2,843 km of Dedicated Freight Corridor Eastern + Western · PIB
- 403 trains a day on the DFCs November 2025 · PIB

Two corridors

## Freight-only, end to end

- [1,337 km Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor Ludhiana (Sahnewal) → Sonnagar Punjab · Haryana · Uttar Pradesh · Bihar](https://safeandsecure.in/rail/eastern-dfc/)
- [1,506 km Western Dedicated Freight Corridor Dadri → JNPT (Navi Mumbai) Uttar Pradesh · Haryana · Rajasthan · Gujarat · Maharashtra](https://safeandsecure.in/rail/western-dfc/)

Share of the load

## Road still carries most of India’s freight

Share of freight, 2020 (NITI Aayog)

1. [Road](https://safeandsecure.in/modes/road/) 71 %
2. [Rail](https://safeandsecure.in/modes/rail/) 18 %

NITI Aayog & RMI: Fast Tracking Freight in India (2021)

A rake, in one line

A full covered-wagon rake is typically 42 BCN wagons (about 2,560 t); an open-wagon rake 58 BOXN (about 3,828 t); a mini-rake 20 BCN.

Source: [IRFCA freight FAQ (enthusiast reference)](https://irfca.org/faq/faq-freight.html)

## Frequently asked questions

**How much freight does Indian Railways carry?**

About 1,617 million tonnes of originating freight in FY2024-25 and about 1,670 million tonnes in FY2025-26 (Ministry of Railways, via PIB).

**What are the Dedicated Freight Corridors?**

Two freight-only lines: the Eastern DFC, 1,337 km from Ludhiana to Sonnagar, and the Western DFC, 1,506 km from Dadri to JNPT. About 403 trains a day ran on them in November 2025.

**Can SSL book a rake or container train?**

Rail is arranged by our desk; our trucks do the first mile to the rail terminal and the last mile from it. SSL does not own rakes or terminals.

Sources

- [PIB: Ministry of Railways, 1 Apr 2025](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2117417) · FY2024-25
- [PIB: Ministry of Railways, 1 Apr 2026](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2247768) · FY2025-26
- [PIB: Year End Review 2025, Ministry of Railways](https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2209199) · 2025
- [NITI Aayog & RMI: Fast Tracking Freight in India (2021)](https://e-amrit.niti.gov.in/assets/admin/dist/img/new-fronend-img/report-pdf/FreightReportNationalLevel.pdf) · 2020
- [IRFCA freight FAQ (enthusiast reference)](https://irfca.org/faq/faq-freight.html)

Heavy, far and steady? Try rail.

Tell us the lane and the tonnes; our desk checks rail and our trucks cover both ends.

[WhatsApp our desk](https://wa.me/917506245557?text=Hi%20SSL%2C%20I%20want%20to%20move%20by%20rail.) [Get a quote](https://safeandsecure.in/ship/quote/)

---

Source: https://safeandsecure.in/rail/ (the HTML page is the record; this markdown twin was generated from it on 2026-11-11). Publisher: Safe & Secure Logistics Private Limited, https://safeandsecure.in/. Figures and their periods: https://safeandsecure.in/facts/