The Karnataka Postal department has teamed up with Indian Railways to operate regular Express Cargo Parcels service. The department has so far conducted two successful pilot ventures in the State.
A train from Bengaluru to Guwahati carrying three tonnes of parcels in one coach specifically earmarked for postal department will chug off on Thursday (Feb 16). Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will formally launch it.
Chief Postmaster General (CPMG) of Karnataka Postal Circle, Rajendra S Kumar told The New Indian Express, “India Post is partnering with Railways for this Express Cargo Parcel service. India Post with its vast reach will provide first and last mile connectivity by picking items from the customer and dropping them at the destination.
Railways will provide the middle mile transmission in tamper proof container. The parcels will be handled at dedicated aggregation centres at identified railway stations.”
One coach of the regular train will be dedicated to this special service. “Unlike the usual service in which a parcel of the maximum weight of 35 kg is accepted, the Express Cargo service will take on board parcels upto 100 kg. Traders and industries stand to benefit enormously. We plan to make it a regular service that will run from more cities in Karnataka in future,” the CPMG said.
End to end tracking from pick up to delivery, mandatory third party insurance at affordable premium with hassle free claim processs are its special features, he said. Rates which are competitive when compared to road transport are being worked out.
Karnataka Postal Circle has already done two Proof of Concepts and both generated good response, he said. One service was run from Bengaluru to Vishakapatnam and the other was from Bagalkot to Mumbai.
