Bhubaneswar: East Coast Railway (ECoR) gained outstanding achievements for the financial year 2025–26, highlighting record-breaking freight performance, strong revenue growth, and major infrastructure advancements.
ECoR retained its position as the top freight handling zone of Indian Railways for yet another year, continuing its dominance for the ninth consecutive year.
The zone also surpassed 200 million tonne (MT) of freight loading for the seventh year in a row, underlining its consistent operational excellence.
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During FY 2025–26, ECoR achieved the highest-ever freight loading of 286.26 MT, marking a significant increase of 27 MT over the previous year.
Freight unloading also reached 258.56 MT, up by 21.88 MT. The zone handled a record 544.82 MT of freight.
The railway zone generated gross revenue of Rs 32,766.02 crore, with freight operations contributing Rs 29,456.60 crore—an increase of over 10.36 per cent compared to the previous financial year.
ECoR secured the first position among all railway zones in Apportioned Gross Revenue of Rs 25,911.85 crore, and Apportioned Goods Revenue of Rs 22,786.13 crore. The zone alone contributed 17.1 per cent of the total 1,669.9 MT freight loading achieved by Indian Railways during the year.
ECoR also recorded growth in passenger services, carrying 97.64 million passengers and earning Rs 2,536.44 crore, compared to 93.52 million passengers in the previous year.
To meet rising demand, 1,598 special trains were operated.
The zone maintained strong financial efficiency, securing second position in operating ratio at 55.04 per cent, reflecting prudent cost management.
Significant strides were made in infrastructure and safety: 108.28 km of new lines and multi-tracking commissioned, 536.545 km of safety fencing completed, 25 level crossings eliminated, 22 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and 77 Limited Height Subways (LHSs) constructed, 567.81 km of track renewed.
Passenger convenience remained a priority, with improvements across stations. 4 stations were redeveloped under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, 20 Foot Over Bridges (FOBs) were constructed, 69 platforms raised and 73 upgraded, 1,073 benches installed, 44 stations made fully Divyang-compliant, and enhanced facilities, including lifts, escalators, waiting halls and circulating areas.
Additionally, 166 solar-powered CCTV cameras were installed, with plans to expand to over 2,500 cameras by June 2026. A notable innovation was the deployment of India’s first rail Robocop, ‘ASC ARJUN’, at Visakhapatnam station.
The railway budget allocation for infrastructure and safety projects in Odisha stood at Rs 10,599 crore for FY 2025–26.
ECoR achieved 100 per cent expenditure of its allocated share, while utilisation for Odisha stood at 98.76 per cent.
The zone also achieved a major milestone in electrification, with the entire Broad-Gauge network in Odisha fully electrified, and all new projects being executed with electrification.
