"Transportation of essential items like medical supplies, medical equipment, food, etc in small parcel sizes is going to be very important during the lockdown in the wake of COVID-19. In order to fill in this vital need, Indian Railways has made railway parcel vans available for quick mass transportation by E-Commerce entities and other customers including State governments, " read a press release by Railway Ministry.
"Railways have decided to run time-tabled Parcel Special trains on select routes, to ensure uninterrupted supply of essential items," it added.
"Zonal Railways are regularly identifying and notifying routes for these Parcel Special trains. Presently these trains are being operated on sixty-five (65) routes," the Railways said.
According to the Indian Railways, these routes have been identified to include regular connectivity between major cities of the country, viz Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Connectivity from state-capitals/important cities to all parts of the state.
"Ensuring connectivity to the North-eastern part of the country. Supply of milk and dairy products from surplus regions (Gujarat, AP) to high demand regions. Supply of other essential items (agricultural inputs, medicines, medical equipment, etc) from producing regions to other parts of the country," it added.
( With inputs from ANI )