With the road transport sector totally disrupted due to nationwide lockdown, Indian Railways came as a lifeline to private companies and traders as national transporter moved more than 7.74 lakh tonnes of foodgrains for the past one month.
More than 7.75 lakh tonnes of 303 rakes of private foodgrains freight loaded by Indian Railways during the lockdown period from March 25 to April 28, 2020, as compared to about 6.62 lakh tonnes of 243 rakes last year in the same period, said an official from railways.
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamilnadu are the leading states in private foodgrains freight loading, said the official.
Earlier most of these foodgrains are being transported through the road sector.
The national transporter also transported the highest quantity of foodgrains from Food Corporation of India ( FCI) which is being distributed to the poor under the public distribution system. The railways transported more than 5.2 million tonnes of foodgrains belongs to FCI from March 25 to April 25, 2020, which is more than double the quantity foodgrains moved compared to last year.
The Indian Railways making all efforts to ensure that farm products like foodgrains are picked up on time and also to ensure an uninterrupted supply chain said the official.
Also, the railways is operating more than 500 parcel trains since the start of the lockdown transporting for perishable commodities including fruits, vegetables, milk, and dairy products and seeds for agriculture purposes.
It also notified routes with a fixed time table to run parcel trains. "These parcel Trains have been given en-route stoppages at all feasible locations, so that maximum possible clearance of parcels can be done," said the official.
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