* Move to boost local economy in Northeast
GUWAHATI: To help the local small-scale producers and traders of the north-eastern region, the NFR (Northeast Frontier Railways) has decided to grant 30% discount in eight 'Time Tabled Parcel Special Trains'.
This discount will be initially applicable up to 31.03.2021; and thereafter will be reviewed for extension every six months depending on utilization of the parcel space.
The discounted rate will enable producers/ traders to transport their produce/ goods to various part of the country in a more reliable, faster and cheaper way and is likely to provide them a competitive edge in terms of timely and cost effective delivery of their product/ goods.
The details of the Time Tabled Parcel trains are as follows: Train no 00304 from Guwahati to Howrah; Train no 00314 from Guwahati to Sealdah; Train no 00620 from Guwahati to Bangalore; Train no 00618 from Dimapur to Bangalore; Train no 00779 from Guwahati to Kacheguda; Train no 00950 from Guwahati to Okha; Train no 00320 from Agartala to Sealdah; and Train no 00328 from Agartala to Howrah
To boost the economy, various innovative measures were taken by Railways since the country-wide lockdown began in March, 2020. One of such innovation was to run hundreds of parcel trains, just like passenger trains, with a fixed time-table.
These Time-tabled parcel services have been launched to provide reliable time bound services to courier services, e-commerce companies and other transporters. These trains have become immensely popular among both long-distance and short-distance transporters for being cost-effective and time-efficient.
To help transporters, several stations were opened by NFR for loading and un-loading of goods. This also helped in attracting new business from customers who had never used the services of rail in the past.
NFR hopes that traders from NE region will take advantage of this discounted rate to transport their produce at a much competitive rate to other cities of our country, and will get benefitted economically, stated a release.