Indian Railways will soon launch a door-to-door parcel service in eight cities, allowing customers to book doorstep pickup and delivery through the Rail Parcel App while the railway network transports consignments between stations.
The service, called Rail Parcel App – Ghar se Ghar Tak, will initially cover Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune. The move follows what the railways described as a successful pilot and is intended to expand access to its parcel services without requiring customers to take consignments to railway premises.
Under the proposed operating model, logistics partners will manage the first-mile pickup from customers and the last-mile delivery to recipients. The railways will be responsible for transporting parcels between stations. Selected partners may also provide packaging and other value-added services, according to details reported by the Economic Times.
The mobile application will function as a digital marketplace connecting customers with logistics providers. Users will be able to book consignments and make payments online, removing the need for conventional paperwork at railway facilities. The arrangement separates local collection and delivery from the rail movement of parcels, with private logistics providers handling the two ends of the journey.
The booking window will open 15 days before the scheduled departure of the train carrying the parcel. Customers will be able to book consignments until one day before departure, while logistics partners can hand them over to railway staff up to one hour before the train leaves, a senior railway official told the Economic Times.
The refund rules will distinguish between the railway freight component and the services delivered by logistics partners. If a booking is cancelled before the consignment is picked up, the railways will provide a full refund of rail freight after deducting a ₹10 clerkage charge. Refunds for first-mile pickup and last-mile delivery will depend on the individual policies of the logistics providers. Those terms are to be communicated to customers at the time of booking.
The launch comes as the railways is also adjusting its parcel offerings ahead of the festive season. Earlier in October, the Railway Board introduced discounted round-trip bookings for parcel coaches. Under that arrangement, parcel aggregators can book a return trip for 1.5 times the one-way fare, reducing the combined freight charge by 25 per cent. The discount applies to the specified round-trip booking model and is not a blanket reduction across all railway parcel bookings.
For urban customers and businesses, the new service is designed to combine railway freight with app-based pickup and delivery. Its practical operation will depend on the availability of logistics partners in each city, the booking process on the app and the handover of consignments within the prescribed train departure window. The railways has not provided, in the reported announcement, a specific launch date for the service.
