Indian Railways is preparing to launch a door-to-door parcel delivery service in eight cities, allowing customers to book shipments from their homes or businesses through the Rail Parcel App – Ghar Se Ghar Tak. The service will combine railway transport between cities with private logistics partners handling pickup and final delivery.
The initial cities are Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune. The Rail Parcel App is being developed as a digital platform for bookings, payments and parcel tracking.
How the Door-to-Door Service Will Work
Under the proposed system, a logistics partner will collect a parcel from the sender and take it to the railway parcel office. Indian Railways will transport it by train to the destination station, where a partner will deliver it to the recipient’s address.
Customers will be able to select a logistics provider and book shipments through the app or website. Partners may also offer services such as packaging. The aim is to remove the need for customers to carry parcels to railway premises or complete conventional paperwork in person.
Bookings, Payments and Tracking
Customers will be able to book a shipment up to 15 days before a train’s scheduled departure and as late as one day before it leaves. Logistics partners must hand over parcels to railway staff before departure, with the reported operating window allowing delivery to the parcel office up to one hour before the train leaves.
The platform is expected to support digital payments and shipment tracking. Each booking will receive a unique 10-digit Progressive Reference Record (PRR) number, which customers can use to follow the parcel’s status.
Refund Rules for Cancelled Bookings
If a customer cancels before the parcel is picked up, the railway freight charge will be refunded after a ₹10 clerkage deduction. Refunds for pickup and doorstep delivery charges will depend on the policies of the logistics partners.
The applicable terms and charges are expected to be shown during booking. Customers should check the partner’s conditions, particularly for cancellation of the pickup and delivery components.
Eight Cities in the Initial Rollout
The service is planned for Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Pune. It follows a pilot project involving logistics partners and rail transport.
The Railway Board’s policy guidelines say the implementation date will be communicated after the Centre for Railway Information Systems completes the required test runs. The service is therefore planned, but is not yet available for general bookings.
By combining railway transport with doorstep pickup and delivery, the initiative aims to make rail parcel services more convenient for individuals and businesses that send goods between cities.
