After September debut, Mizoram’s new rail link transports its first automobiles to the state capital Aizawl

The transportation of cars is part of Indian Railways’ initiative to diversify its freight basket, which currently relies largely on bulk goods, and to support the lowering of carbon emissions in the automobile sector.

The Bairabi–Sairang line was one of the most difficult railway projects, as the track traverses the fragile mountains of the northeastern state.

The freight operation on the line started soon after the inauguration. On September 14, 2025, 21 cement wagons were sent from Assam to Aizawl, marking the first freight movement on the line.

The Railways said that since then, the route has transported essential goods such as cement, construction materials, automobiles, sand, and stone chips.

The first parcel consignment from Sairang was booked on September 19, 2025, when Anthurium flowers were transported to Anand Vihar Terminal via a parcel van attached to the Sairang–Anand Vihar Terminal Rajdhani Express.

Between 17 September and 12 December 2025, a total of 17 freight rakes were handled on the ambitious line, said the Railways. Apart from the freight trains, there are three passenger trains — Sairang-Anand Vihar Terminal Rajdhani Express, Sairang-Guwahati Mizoram Express, and Sairang-Kolkata Express — currently running from Aizawl with more than 100 per cent occupancy.

According to the Railways Ministry data, the share of passenger vehicles dispatched by the Indian Railways has increased to more than 20 per cent of the total car production in the country in FY25, a significant increase from 1.7 per cent share in FY15.

A total of 10.41 lakh cars were dispatched by the Indian Railways in different parts of the country in 2024-25 (FY25), which is expected to increase to nearly 15 lakh in FY26. The total car loading in railways stood at 9.69 lakh in FY24, 7.70 lakh in FY23, 4.91 lakh in FY22, 3.98 lakh in FY21 and 3.09 lakh cars in FY20.

Maruti Suzuki accounts for the largest share of total car loading by railways, followed by Hyundai in second place and Tata Motors in third. Nearly 50 per cent of all cars transported by Indian Railways are from Maruti Suzuki.

To encourage the car manufacturers to transport their vehicles via Railways, the Automobile Freight Train Operator (AFTO) scheme has been liberalised. Under this initiative, the registration fee for AFT operators has been done away with. Earlier, the fee was Rs 5 crore, which has now been reduced to zero. Along with this, the minimum number of rakes required for transportation has been relaxed from three to one.

Almost 80 per cent of the cars transported by Railways are meant for domestic sales. There are a total of 133 railway sidings in the country where cars are loaded and unloaded.