Indian Railways is preparing to launch a doorstep parcel service in eight major cities, allowing customers to book home pickup and delivery through the Rail Parcel App or the railway website instead of visiting station parcel offices. The upcoming service, called Ghar Se Ghar Tak, is intended to simplify rail-based shipping for households, small businesses and online sellers.
The service will initially cover Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune. According to the report by Aaj Tak Business, the pilot run has been successful and the service is now planned as a regular offering in these cities. However, Indian Railways has not yet announced a specific date for the wider rollout.
Under the proposed operating model, logistics partners will collect parcels from customers’ homes and deliver them to the designated address. Indian Railways will handle the movement of the parcel between cities by train. The logistics partner will be required to hand over the parcel to railway staff at least one hour before the scheduled departure of the train.
Customers will be able to book a parcel up to 15 days before the train’s departure. Bookings will also remain available until one day before the scheduled departure, subject to the applicable service conditions. The arrangement is designed to connect the railway’s long-distance freight movement with doorstep logistics, reducing the need for customers to organise separate transport to and from stations.
The Rail Parcel App will provide booking, online payment and tracking functions. A 10-digit Progressive Reference Record, or PRR, number will be generated for each booking and can be used to check the parcel’s status. The service is also expected to provide live tracking updates and a digital GST invoice. Payment options will include UPI, credit cards, debit cards and net banking.
Delivery verification will use a one-time password to help ensure that the parcel is handed to the intended recipient. The arrangement places the customer-facing pickup and final delivery responsibilities with logistics partners, while the railway remains responsible for the intercity rail leg of the shipment.
The cancellation and refund rules distinguish between railway freight charges and doorstep logistics charges. If a customer cancels the railway freight booking before the parcel is picked up, the railway will deduct a ₹10 clerical charge and refund the remaining railway freight amount. Charges paid for home pickup and delivery will be governed by the refund policy of the relevant logistics partner and will not automatically be covered by the railway’s refund rules.
South Central Railway had shared information about the service on social media on 6 May 2026. The initiative is expected to be particularly relevant to small traders, online sellers and individual customers who regularly send goods between cities. Its initial limitation is geographic: the planned service will begin in eight cities, with details about the final launch schedule and any subsequent expansion yet to be provided.
