The Railways has operated its first-ever special parcel train to Bangladesh, transporting dry chillies from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district to the neighbouring country.

How was the train planned?

Guntur and its surrounding areas in the state of Andhra Pradesh are well known for Chillies cultivation. The quality of this farm produce is internationally renewed for its uniqueness in taste and brand. 

Earlier, the farmers and merchants in and around Guntur area have been transporting dry chillies by road to Bangladesh in small quantities and that was costing around Rs 7,000 per tonne. 

During the lockdown period, they could not move this essential commodity by road. Then railway staff and officials approached the consignors and explained the facilities to transport by rail. 

But for moving the consignment by goods trains, it is mandatory for the farmers and merchants to mobilise the quantity in bulk — at least more than 1,500 tonnes in each trip. 

To mitigate this problem and to facilitate the users to move their quantities in small amounts, Guntur Division of South Central Railway took the initiative and moved the Special Parcel Express consisting 16 parcel vans to Bangladesh. 

The total weight carried by the Special Parcel Express is around 384 tonnes. The cost per tonne for carrying by Special Parcel Express is Rs 4,608 and which is very cheap compared to road transport which amounts to Rs 7,000 per tonne.

This has helped the farmers and merchants of Guntur to market their farm produce beyond the country border by transporting the dry chillies to Benopole.

Boosting parcel train traffic amid pandemic

Through the COVID-19 crisis, the Railways has taken a series of steps to boost parcel train traffic.

Transportation of essential items like medical supplies, medical equipment, food, etc. in small parcel sizes are very important items needed for business as well as consumption purposes, an official statement said. 

The Railways has made railway parcel vans available for quick mass transportation by e-commerce entities and other customers including state governments. Railways has been running time-tabled Parcel Special trains on select routes to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential items, it said.

The total of 4,434 parcel trains have run between March 22 and July 11, it added.

Indo-Bangladesh rail links

Train services from India to Bangladesh were suspended since the 1965 India-Pakistan War. It was resumed in 2008 with the Maitree Express between Kolkata and Dhaka.

In 2017, the Kolkata-Khulna Bandhan Express was flagged off. It is a weekly train and covers the distance between Kolkata and Khulna through Petrapole and Benapole route to cater to the demands of the people from both the countries to enhance the connectivity. 

A railway line connecting the northeastern region with Bangladesh will be ready by the end of 2021, the government has said. The railway link will connect Gangasagar in Bangladesh to Nischintapur in India and from Nischintapur to Agartala railway station.

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