Guwahati, April 18 (IANS) The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has achieved unprecedented progress in transportation of cement cargo by rail and loading and unloading of cement traffic across its terminal during the financial year 2025-26, officials said on Saturday.

NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said cement traffic recorded a growth of 7.8 per cent in inward movement, increasing from 9.05 million tonnes in 2024-25 to 9.76 million tonnes in 2025-26. On the loading front, Cement witnessed a remarkable rise of 152.7 per cent. These achievements reflect NFR’s sustained efforts to enhance freight efficiency and support infrastructure development across the Northeast region, he said.

One of the most notable achievements was the successful unloading of the first-ever cement rake at Sairang Railway Station in Mizoram on September 14, 2025. Sharma said this rake, which was loaded from an area near Guwahati, was the first freight cargo train to be operated over the newly constructed Bairabi (along southern Assam) – Sairang (near Aizawl) rail route, marking a major boost to regional connectivity.

Further strengthening cement cargo operations, NFR achieved the milestone of unloading the first-ever cement rake at Molvom Railway Station in Nagaland on September 24, 2025, the NFR CPRO said.

The rake consisted of 41 wagons loaded with cement from a private company in Telangana.

The Railway also placed its first goods train with an electric locomotive at the busy cement production area at Tetelia (under the Lumding Division of NFR) on March 11, 2025, which had handled 50 rakes in the month of February, 2025.

Sharma said that in another landmark development, the first-ever goods train containing cement was successfully placed at Nischintapur terminal near Agartala on March 24, 2025.

The consignment from a cement plant siding at Tetelia marked a historic moment under the Agartala-Akhaura New Rail Link Project, further strengthening freight connectivity in Tripura and the Northeast, the official added.

–IANS

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