The Indian Railways on 9th September 2020 flagged off its second and South India’s first Kisan Rail, from Anantapur in the state of Andhra Pradesh to Adarsh Nagar in Delhi.
During the inaugural run of the train, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy via a video conference jointly flagged off the Kisan Rail train.
The rail carried 322 tonnes of fruits and vegetables which consist of papaya, sweet lime, mangoes, banana, musk melon, and tomatoes in 13 bogies. One Three-Tier AC carried horticulture farmers, officials from Marketing, Agriculture, and Horticulture Department, and two SLR bogies of Railway Staff.
The very first Kisan Rail train service introduced by the Indian Railways network was launched on 7 August 2020. The train that runs between Devlali in Maharashtra and Danapur in the state of Bihar operates on a weekly basis.
Kisan Rail which consists of 10 parcel vans as well as one luggage cum brake van came as a boon for the farmers, and helped them transport vegetables, fruits, dairy products, etc., to consumers in a more efficient manner.
Furthermore, this multi-commodity train service, is building a seamless national cold supply chain of meat, milk, and fish.
The Devlali – Danapur Kisan Rail has scheduled halts at Nasik Road, Jalgaon, Manmad, Khandwa, Satna, Bhusaval, Katni, Itarsi, Manikpur, Jabalpur, Buxar, Burhanpur, Prayagraj Chheoki, and Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Nagar. Indian Railways believes that the Kisan Rail train service will cater to the needs of small farmers or traders by carrying their perishable items to distant places.
The move is a step towards achieving the goal of doubling the incomes of farmers by 2022, according to the Railway Ministry.
