Railways developing Vande Bharat parcel trains for e-commerce shipping
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Indian Railways plans to run dedicated Vande Bharat parcel trains on specific routes to capture a chunk of goods shipped by online marketplaces like Amazon and Flipkart that use road and air cargo for faster shipments, two people aware of the development said. The railways have begun designing freight trains on the lines of its Vande Bharat passenger express.
The first prototype is expected to be ready sometime in the next financial year. After test runs along the Mumbai-Gujarat section of the railways, the new high-speed freight trains may be considered for induction into regular railway service, the first among the two persons quoted above said on the condition of anonymity. The national transporter hopes that the new service using the semi-fast trains will help it regain some of the non-bulk freight business that has moved to roadways over the decades.
A large portion of high-end e-commerce freight movement has also moved to air cargo in the absence of a dedicated service by the railways. The new plan is be a big shift in the railways' freight policy that is largely focused on revenue-generating bulk shipping of coal, steel, iron ore, food grains, cement, petroleum products and fertilizer, among others. E-commerce offers a big opportunity.
The online retail logistics market size India is estimated at nearly $4 billion, according to Mordor Intelligence, a Hyderabad-based data research firm. Also read | No change likely in rail fares, freight rates for 9th straight year “The idea with Vande Bharat parcel train is to bring high-value niche goods movement to the railways. These could be dedicated along routes that offer a good scope for faster movement of small parcels with the
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