Under the Kisan Rail Project, Railways have so far operated Kisan Rail services on the following routes:

1. Devlali/Sangola (Maharashtra) to Danapur/Muzaffarpur (Bihar)
2. Anantpur (Andhra Pradesh) to Adarsh Nagar (Delhi)
3. Yeshwantpur (Karnataka) to Hazrat Nizamuddin (Delhi)
4. Warud/Nagpur (Maharashtra) to Adarsh Nagar (Delhi)
5. Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh) to Howrah (West Bengal)
6. Sangola (Maharashtra) to Howrah (West Bengal)
7. Sangola (Maharashtra) to Shalimar (West Bengal)
8. Indore (Madhya Pradesh) to New Guwahati (Assam)
9. Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh) to New Guwahati (Assam)
10. Indore (Madhya Pradesh) to Agartala (Tripura)
11. Jalandhar (Punjab) to Jirania (Tripura)
12. Nagarsol (Maharashtra) to New Guwahati (Assam)
13. Nagarsol (Maharashtra) to Chitpur (West Bengal)
14. Nagarsol (Maharashtra) to New Jalpaiguri (Assam)
15. Nagarsol (Maharashtra) to Naugachia (Bihar)
16. Nagarsol (Maharashtra) to Fatuha (Bihar)
17. Nagarsol (Maharashtra) to Baihata (Assam); and
18. Nagarsol (Maharashtra) to Malda Town (West Bengal)

No Kisan Rails has been introduced through PPP arrangements so far.

Since the launch of first Kisan Rail service on 7th August 2020 and upto 22nd January 2021, Indian Railway have operated 157 Kisan Rail services, transporting approximately fifty thousand tonnes of perishables including fruits and vegetables.

Potential circuits for movement of vegetables, fruits and other perishables are being identified in consultation with Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Agriculture/Animal Husbandry/Fisheries Departments of State Governments. The assessment is being done on the basis of seasonal availability of these items, so as to obtain efficiency and economies of scale. Commodities booked via Kisan Rail trains are charged at ‘P’-scale of parcel tariff. 50% subsidy in freight, which is borne by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) under the “Operation Greens (TOP to TOTAL)” Scheme, is being granted on transportation of fruits and vegetables through Kisan Rail Services.

No Reefer Rail Container or Refrigerated Parcel Van has been procured for this purpose so far. However, temperature controlled Perishable Cargo Centres have been established at Nashik, Singur, New Azadpur, Raja Ka Talab/Varanasi, Ghazipur and Fatuha. In addition, cold storage Reefer Park has been developed at Inland Container Depot, Dadri and a cold storage facility has been established at Rai, Sonipat.

In order to increase food chain supply, Railways have withdrawn the busy season surcharge applicable on food grains, till further orders. Besides, the freight of food grains has been kept stable from 01.04.2015. As a result of these measures the loading of food grains has increased from 27.69 million tonnes during April to December in 2019-2020, to 50.47 million tonnes during corresponding period of 2020-2021. The priority in rake allotment accorded for transportation of food-grains has also been upgraded from ‘D’ to ‘B’ category to ensure timely supply of rakes.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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DJN/MKV