Parliament Question: Dedicated parcel trains for essential, e-commerce and perishable goods in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 910 ANSWERED ON 06.02.2026 DEDICATED PARCEL TRAINS FOR ESSENTIAL, E-COMMERCE AND PERISHABLE GOODS IN TAMIL NADU 910. SHRI R. GIRIRAJAN: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Ministry will consider introducing dedicated parcel trains for essential, e- commerce and perishable goods to improve railway logistics efficiency in Tamil Nadu, if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor; (b) whether Government has chalked out any plans to provide dedicated parcel trains plying both inter-state and intra-state to facilitate transport of essential items like milk, vegetables and fruits as well as e-commerce products across the States; and (c) the total funds allocated to Railways and utilised so far in this regard? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (c): Indian Railways has a dedicated system for carrying parcels across the country in coaches designed for the purpose – such as Parcel Vans (VPs/VPUs/VPHs), Brake Vans (SLRs), general coaches (GS), modified general coaches (NMG/NMGH/NMGHS) and Assistant Guard’s Cabin (AGC), and Parcel Express Trains (scheduled services, leased services and on demand services) etc. IR offers parcel services for the transportation of various types of goods, including e-commerce items, perishables, general merchandise, industrial raw materials, machinery, consumer goods, and more. Under the Joint Parcel Product-Rapid Cargo Service (JPP-RCS) policy, 08 pairs of scheduled (time tabled) services are operating between specific locations which have been planned on the basis of market demand and operational feasibility. Under the scheme empanelled parcelaggregators book full parcel vans through a well established online ‘Virtual Aggregation Platform’ (VAP) developed by IR. In order to popularize these services, the scheme has been liberalized. The financial eligibility criteria for registration as Aggregator has been withdrawn and the empanelment fee has been revised to Rs 10,000/-. Besides, the financial eligibility criteria for participation in e-auction of leased parcel space (SLR, VP) and for tender of leased parcel train has been removed. Recently, e-commerce items with Lithium –ion batteries have also been permitted in leased spaces. At present, 138 SLR compartments and 17 VPs are running on lease in trains originating/terminating in Tamil Nadu, and 02 leased parcel cargo express trains (PCETs) with a composition of 20 parcel vans and 01 SLR each, are running from Korukkupet and Royapuram in Tamil Nadu to Azara (weekly) and Patel Nagar (bi-weekly) respectively. Full parcel trains are planned on specific routes taking into consideration, the demand received from the stakeholders and the operational feasibility. Recently, intra-zonal service between Royapuram and Mangalore was operational, which was a time-tabled service with multiple stoppages. *****