Freight transport results in March 2026

In March 2026, freight rail transported over 19.3 million tons of freight, the highest result since the beginning of the year.

In March this year, the railway transported over 19.3 million tons of cargo, which means a result higher by over 1.4 million tons (+7.9%) compared to March 2025. Transport performance exceeded 5.1 billion tonne-kilometers, which was almost 0.5 billion tonne-kilometers higher (+10.5%) than a year earlier. Operational work exceeded 7.6 million train-kilometers, which means 1.1 million train-kilometers more (+16.8%) on an annual basis.

The average distance of transporting 1 tonne of cargo exceeded 266 km in March – over 6 km more than in March 2025.

The values ​​of basic freight transport parameters obtained in March 2026 were the highest since the beginning of the year. Compared to February this year:

• the weight of goods increased by almost 3 million tons (+18.3%);
• transport performance was higher by over 0.9 billion tonne-kilometers (+22.2%);
• operational work increased by 1.4 million train kilometers (+22.8%).

The average distance of transporting 1 tonne of cargo was over 8 km longer in March than a month earlier.

Freight transport results in March 2026 show some signs of recovery, but they should be interpreted with great caution. Data for the entire first quarter indicate that freight railways are facing a challenge of a structural nature – with a slight decrease in the weight of transported loads, a higher scale of transport and operational work was recorded. This proves the change in the nature of the market – the importance of mass transport is decreasing, while the role of dispersed freight flows and intermodal transport is increasing. The key to the sector’s stability is no longer the fight for volumes, but improving operational efficiency. Only by redefining processes and adapting the offer to the new realities will carriers maintain profitability.

− comments Dr. Hab. engineer Ignacy Góra, President of UTK.

In the first three months of 2026, the railway transported over 51.8 million tons of cargo. This is over 0.3 million tonnes less (-0.7%) than in the same period of 2025. Transport performance exceeded 13.4 billion tonne-kilometers, which means an increase of 86.8 million tonne-kilometers (+0.7%) year-on-year. Operational work amounted to nearly 19.8 million train-kilometers and was over 0.9 million train-kilometers higher (+4.9%) than in the first quarter of 2025.

Basic operational data on transport freight have been published on the website Railway Data.

Source: UTK