Photo Courtesy: NFR
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Maligaon, May 6 (MExN): The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) on Wednesday held a meeting with key stakeholders of the tea industry to promote containerised movement of tea consignments through rail, as part of efforts to strengthen logistics support and enhance freight operations in the region.
The meeting, held at the NFR headquarters in Maligaon, was attended by senior railway officials, logistics operators, tea associations, exporters and producers.
Assam produces nearly 160 million kg of export-oriented tea annually, and the initiative is aimed at encouraging greater use of rail-based containerised services for transporting tea. Railways said such services offer multiple advantages including cost-effectiveness, reliability, faster transit, reduced handling loss and environmentally sustainable transportation.
NFR officials said the zone has been consistently working to strengthen freight infrastructure and develop customer-oriented logistics solutions to meet the requirements of the tea industry across the Northeast and adjoining areas.
During the meeting, participants deliberated on measures to improve rail connectivity, operational coordination and container handling facilities for tea movement. Discussions also focused on strategies to attract higher tea traffic to the Railways by ensuring seamless, efficient and customer-friendly transportation services.
NFR highlighted its performance in freight operations during the financial year 2025-26, recording a total freight loading of 11.4 million tonnes, marking a 6 per cent growth over the previous year.
Freight handling also improved significantly, with unloading increasing by 688 rakes—from 12,346 rakes in FY 2024-25 to 13,034 rakes in FY 2025-26.
To further strengthen logistics infrastructure, NFR is developing and operationalising modern freight terminals and multimodal cargo handling facilities across the region. New terminals at Sairang in Mizoram and Molvom in Nagaland, among others, are expected to enhance freight accessibility and connectivity in the northeastern states.
In addition, the development of Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals across the zone is improving capabilities for cargo aggregation, container handling and first-mile and last-mile connectivity. Officials said this will create more opportunities for industries, including tea producers and exporters, to increasingly adopt rail transport.
The initiative reflects NFR’s continued focus on strengthening freight infrastructure, promoting sustainable transportation and offering customer-centric logistics solutions to support economic growth and industrial development in the Northeast.
