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Indian Railways is likely to start a dedicated Gati Shakti Express Cargo service for the delivery of goods from February, 2023, sources close to the matter say adding that the special train for this project will be called the Rail Post Gati Shakti Express.
This door-to-door parcel service for common Indian residents is a joint venture of the Indian Railways and India Post, which will be called Joint Parcel Project, where the role of the Indian postal department will be more of that of a courier service provider.
The Indian Postal department will be responsible for picking up and dropping off couriers from and to the consumer’s door step, while the Indian Railways will be responsible for the transport of the goods in a timetabled manner (goods will have pre-assigned time slots.)
For the Rail Post Gati Shakti Express project, the Indian Railways has planned a Vande Bharat-like semi high-speed train.
Making the new offering attractive for the customers, the railway ministry is offering freight charges 20% less than that of road transport.
Further details of the project are likely to be announced in the upcoming budget, sources reveal.
