Lok Sabha Question No. 3143 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-11
Subject: App-based Rail Parcel Platform
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri G M Harish Balayogi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3143 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.03.2026

## APP-BASED RAIL PARCEL PLATFORM

## 3143. SHRI G M HARISH BALAYOGI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  details  of  door-to-door  freight  and  parcel  logistics  initiatives, Integrated Logistics Hubs established, since inception, including present status of each zone and year/UT-wise;
- (b)  the  details  of  Joint  Parcel  Product  between  Railways  and  India  Post including routes, consignments handled, revenue generated and expansion plans;
- (c) whether South Central Railway is developing an app-based Rail Parcel platform  for  door-to-door  parcel  booking,  if  so,  the  details  thereof including pilot scope and scale-up plans;
- (d)  the  number  of  private  logistics  partners  onboarded  revenue-sharing mechanism and total revenue earned from door-to-door services during the last three years, year and zone-wise;
- (e)  the  details  of  parcel  infrastructure  created  and  door-to-door  services proposed in SCR especially in Andhra Pradesh; and
- (f)  whether  an  assessment  of  cost  and  time  advantages  vis-à-vis  roadbased  logistics  has  been  conducted  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof including roadmap for national roll-out of a digital logistics platform?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (f):    For  strengthening  freight  logistics  and  regional  connectivity, Indian  Railways  has  implemented  a  multi-pronged  strategy  to  enhance freight  efficiency,  ensure  seamless  regional  connectivity,  and  provide robust first-and-last-mile solutions.

To  improve  the  efficiency  of  rail  freight  handling  at  the  terminals,  Indian Railway  has adopted two-pronged approach: encouraging development of modern rail freight terminals under Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (GCT) policy and augmenting/upgrading the infrastructure at railway owned goods  sheds.   So  far,  125  GCTs  have  already  been  commissioned.  In addition,  for  improvement  of  customer  amenities  at  goods  and  parcel terminals all across the country, an amount of Rs. 14,500 crore has been allocated for the financial year 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26.

CONCOR, a PSU under Ministry of Railways is also providing Door-to-Door parcel  services  by  utilizing  the  JPP-RCS  over  Delhi-Kolkata  and  MumbaiKolkata sectors.  CONCOR is also providing Door-to-Door logistics under a pilot project at Sonik Goods shed.

The Joint Parcel Product (JPP) initiative with India Post was introduced on pilot basis in 2022 over certain routes to target business-to-customer (B2C) and  business-to-business  (B2B)  market  with  focus  on  e-Commerce  and MSME market with an affordable price as per the market trends of weight category  between  35  Kgs  to  100  Kgs.    Under  the  scheme  India  Post provided  First  &  Last  Mile  services,  and  Indian  Railways  provided  the Middle Mile services.

Based on the experience gained from the pilot, the JPP scheme was made available  for  other  parcel  aggregators  also  and  was  renamed  as  Joint Parcel Product - Rapid Cargo Service (JPP-RCS).  Under the scheme, online booking  of  JPP-RCS  (in  units  of  VPs)  is  done  by  empanelled  parcel aggregators through the 'Virtual aggregation Platform' (VAP) developed by IR.  Currently  07  pairs  of  scheduled  (time  tabled)  services  are  operating between  specific  locations  which  have  been  planned  on  the  basis  of market demand and operational feasibility.  Total revenue generated from the  JPP-RCS during the current year (upto February 2026) is Rs 56 crore approximately.

A  pilot  project  for  the  development  of  a  comprehensive  'App-Based Platform' for railway parcel logistics has been launched by South Central Railway  on  25.02.2026  for  a  period  of  one  year.  Under  this  pilot  project, door-to-door parcel service is being provided in association with logistics service providers.  The integrated parcel logistics app, 'Rail Parcel', has been developed as a digital marketplace wherein selected logistics service providers  are  on-boarded  as  partners.  These  logistics  partners  offer  a range of services including first-mile pickup, last-mile delivery, value-added services  such  as  packaging,  etc.,  with  Railways  providing  the  mid-mile transportation through rail services.

The project is being implemented at seventeen stations across seven cities viz. Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Bengaluru and Chennai.  At present, three private logistics partners have been on boarded through an Expression of Interest process.

Business Development units functional at all Railway Divisions have been advised to engage with various stakeholders to assess the traffic as well as availability and readiness of logistics service provider for the first and last mile service.

Decision on the roll out of the App on Pan-India basis shall be based on the experience gained from the project.

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