Railways, India Post launch Rail Post Gati Shakti Express Cargo Service

Indian Railways and India Post have formally launched Rail Post Gati Shakti Express Cargo Service, Joint Parcel Product of Railways, and India Post.

In consonance with the 'Gati Shakti Master Plan' to provide seamless solutions for the movement of parcels, Indian Railways and the Department of Post have collaborated and evolved a Joint Parcel Product (JPP), the Rail Post Gati Shakti Express Cargo.

This is in compliance with the Budget announcement for FY 2022-23. On Thursday, it has been started, on the four sectors -Delhi to Kolkata; Bangalore to Guwahati, Surat to Muzaffarpur, and Hyderabad to Hazrat Nizamuddin. However, a total of 15 sectors have been planned to be covered in the first phase.

To implement this idea, initially, 15 OD pairs of time-tabled Express Cargo Service trains have been finalised under this initiative over Indian Railways.

It is also notable that the focus of the JPP model is to provide an integrated service to the customer, with the 'first-mile and last-mile service' for parcels being executed by the Department of Post and the middle-mile transportation being handled by the Railways.

The USPs of the JPP are palletization, time-tabled runs, end-to-end logistics service, single documentation, insurance cover, reliability, safety, availability, and cost-effectiveness. The highlights of this service are total logistic Service, i.e. pick-up and delivery at customer premises, palletization - transportation through covered and sealed boxes, semi-mechanized handling, timetabled service, insurance at 0.05 per cent of the declared value of the cargo for loss, damage, and deterioration, integrated parcel waybill.

Joint marketing teams between posts and railways have been made to take this initiative forward. Doing away with the slab system of pricing is an innovation herein.

Railways and the Department of posts have collectively upgraded their tools, machinery, handling equipment, and storage space for optimum use. Specially designed Fold type boxes, Envelope boxes, mesh-type boxes, and bubble guard boxes made up of aluminum and lightweight material have been developed. Similarly, Parcel Aggregation Centre has been equipped with a conveyor system along with specially designed rakes for efficient stacking. BTU Deck where palletized material can be easily rolled is provided for effortless movement.