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Indian Railways has launched a one-year pilot of its integrated “Rail Parcel” app-based platform to provide door-to-door parcel logistics through partnerships with private service providers. South Central Railway started the pilot in February across 17 stations in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Bengaluru and Chennai. The platform brings first-mile pickup, last-mile delivery and packaging services together, while railways handle the middle-mile movement. Three private logistics partners have been onboarded through an Expression of Interest process. The initiative builds on the Joint Parcel Product-Rapid Cargo Service, which generated about INR 56 crore in revenue up to February 2026.
Indian Railways has begun testing an integrated parcel logistics platform that combines rail transportation with first-mile pickup and last-mile delivery, as part of efforts to expand its role in door-to-door freight movement. The “Rail Parcel” app was launched on a pilot basis by South Central Railway on 25 February for one year across 17 stations in seven cities, with a decision on nationwide expansion to be taken after assessing the pilot’s results.
The digital platform has been developed as a marketplace where selected logistics service providers are onboarded as partners. These partners provide services including collection from the sender, delivery to the recipient and value-added facilities such as packaging. Indian Railways provides the middle-mile transportation through its rail network, creating an integrated logistics arrangement covering the movement of parcels from origin to destination.
The pilot currently covers Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Bengaluru and Chennai. Three private logistics companies have been onboarded through an Expression of Interest process. Railway Business Development units operating across divisions have also been directed to engage with stakeholders and assess freight traffic, as well as the availability and readiness of logistics providers to handle first- and last-mile operations.
The initiative follows the experience of the Joint Parcel Product (JPP), which Indian Railways introduced with India Post on a pilot basis in 2022. The service was designed for the business-to-customer and business-to-business markets, with particular focus on e-commerce and micro, small and medium enterprises. The original arrangement covered parcels weighing between 35 kg and 100 kg, with India Post handling the first and last mile while Indian Railways provided the middle-mile movement.
Following the pilot, the JPP was opened to other parcel aggregators and renamed Joint Parcel Product-Rapid Cargo Service (JPP-RCS). Online bookings are made by empanelled parcel aggregators through the Virtual Aggregation Platform developed by Indian Railways. Seven pairs of scheduled services are currently operational between specified locations, with routes planned according to market demand and operational feasibility. The service generated approximately INR 56 crore in revenue during the current financial year up to February 2026.
Railways is also using other measures to improve freight handling infrastructure. Under the Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal policy, 128 terminals had been commissioned and in-principle approvals had been issued for another 288 as of 5 March. The government has allocated INR 14,500 crore during the financial years 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 for improving customer amenities and infrastructure at goods and parcel terminals across the network.
Container Corporation of India (CONCOR), a railway ministry public sector undertaking, is already providing door-to-door parcel services using JPP-RCS on the Delhi-Kolkata and Mumbai-Kolkata corridors. It is also running a pilot for door-to-door logistics at Sonik goods shed.
The government will use the Rail Parcel pilot to assess demand, operational performance and the readiness of logistics partners before deciding whether to roll out the platform nationally. The information was provided by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in a reply to questions in the Lok Sabha.
Source- PIB
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