The South Western Railway (SWR) line earned ₹4,600 crores from an originating freight loading of 46.7 million tonnes achieved in the financial year 2022-23. It surpassed the record high of 46.2 million tonnes clocked in 2007-08. In addition, the southern railway line carried 2.1 million tonnes of mineral oil, 1.5 million tonnes of sugar, 1.1 million tonnes of cement, and 509 rakes of automobiles.
Automobile manufacturers prefer rail transport for its accident and damage-free, environment-friendly, and timely services for newly manufactured vehicles. SWR’s list of major clients includes KIA, Toyota, Suzuki, TVS, and Ashok Leyland.
SWR faced many challenges, like continued doubling and electrification, demanding multiple traffic blockages, but the railway authority managed to smoothly carry out freight transport. However, with the current timings, many trains will face temporary stoppages on an experimental basis for six months. These include a one-minute temporary stop at Ramagiri station for trains 16545/16546, the Yeshwantpur-Karatagi-Yeshwantpur Daily Express that will continue to run from April 15 to October 14; a two-minute temporary stoppage at Birur station for train Nos. 07377/07378, the Vijayapura-Mangaluru Junction-Vijayapura Daily Express Special that will continue to run from April 15 to October 14.
