NEW DELHI, 11 April 2020: Indian Railways has identified 67 routes (134 trains) for Parcel Special Trains since the start of the lockdown for perishable commodities including fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy products and seeds for agriculture purpose.
Till 10 April, 62 routes have been notified and 171 timetabled trains are being run on these routes.
The Parcel Specials have been planned to connect all the major cities of the country, viz Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.
In addition, proper connectivity has also been ensured to Guwahati, to ensure supplies in the North-eastern region of the country. Other important cities connected via these trains are Bhopal, Allahabad, Dehradun, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Ranchi, Gorakhpur, Thiruvananthapuram, Salem, Warangal, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Rourkela, Bilaspur, Bhusawal, Tatanagar, Jaipur, Jhansi, Agra, Nasik, Nagpur, Akola, Jalgaon, Surat, Pune, Raipur, Patna, Asansol, Kanpur, Jaipur, Bikaner, Ajmer, Gwalior, Mathura, Nellore, Jabalpur, etc.
Trains are being run even on those routes where demand is less, so that no part of the country remains unconnected. Trains have been given en-route stoppages at all feasible locations, so that maximum possible clearance of parcels may be done.
A Video Conference (VC) has been organized with Secretaries and Mission Directors of Horticulture of all State/ UTs regarding the availability of Special Trains for the transport of perishable commodities including Fruits, Vegetables, Milk and Dairy products and Seeds for Agriculture purpose.
The VC was attended by 76 officers from throughout the country and addressed by Additional Secretary, DAC&FW, Addnl Member (Commercial) Railway Board, EDs of Railway Board and CONCOR, SFAC, NHB and majority of senior officers of the department.
All the State Mission Directors and Concerned Secretaries of States/UTs were requested to mobilize all their resources to take advantage of these trains being run by Railways.
Addl. Member (Commercial) Railway Board has offered that if they receive any demand from States regarding new routes or stoppage, they will immediately take necessary action to do needful.
A list of all Pr CCMs/ Chief Commercial Managers of different zones, the procedure of booking, time table of these Special Trains and a freight calculator have also been shared with all the officers for sharing and wider publicity.
Link for details regarding Parcel Special trains is available on Indian Railways website
Click Direct link for details of Parcel Special trains
Image credit: Financial Express