Indian Railway
Freight Activity

About the Railway Freight Activity (IRFA) Index

The projected increase in freight demand and the consequent pressure on road is expected to shift the freight traffic away from road to rail. Besides, the government’s goal outlined in the National Rail Plan (NRP) to increase the share of railways is freight traffic is expected to drive this momentum. It is in this context that Dun & Bradstreet India along with Jupiter Wagons is conducting a survey to monitor the rail freight activity across the major routes in India and for major commodities.

An Index, utilizing the actual performance of railways and user survey, based report capturing the activity and performance of the railway freight supply chain is much needed from policy formulation perspective. It is in this context that Dun & Bradstreet in association with Jupiter Wagons proposes to create an Indian Railway Freight Activity (IRFA) Index to monitor rail freight activity at a quarterly frequency in India. Railway authorities as well as policymakers would find the Index report useful in their discussions and decisioning to address the various bottlenecks, short term and structural, across the supply chain.

Objective of the Index

Stakeholders can identify and estimate the expected shift in demand and supply and expectations for operational efficiency across segments/regions to make informed decisions.

The index will enable respective authorities to identify and address bottlenecks across the supply chain, by identifying short-term and structural challenges to implement targeted measures.

Service providers, supply-side industries and government entities can utilize the index to optimize their planning processes, ensuring efficient resource allocation and meeting operational demands.

The index would serve as a ready reckoner for policymakers and user industries. A ready reckoner for policy makers to understand the requirement of the user industries and plan towards meeting supply/investment demand. Inclusion of carbon emissions reduction metrics will highlight sustainability component, contributing to India's climate change mitigation goals.