Indian Railways has transported 82.27 million tonnes of essential commodities, in the month of May, compared to 65.14 million tonnes in April, showing an increase of more than 25 percent. Indian Railways has transported 175.46 million tonnes of essential commodities from April 1, 2020, to June 1. From April 1 to June 9 Railways loaded 12.56 million tonnes of food grains as compared to 6.7 million tonnes in the same period last year. To ensure uninterrupted supply of essential items, Railways are running time-tabled parcel special trains on select routes. Total 1,37,030 tonnes of consignment has been loaded in these parcel trains. Transportation of essential items like medical supplies, medical equipment, food, etc in small parcel sizes is very important during the lockdown. 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.
In order to ensure the timely delivery of essential commodities for citizens and goods vital for energy & infrastructure sector, Indian Railways has maintained its freight corridors fully functional in spite of the Covid-19 lockdown and has been successful in meeting the needs of both the households sector and industry.
From March 23 to June 9 more than 31.90 lakh wagons carried supplies to keep the supply chain functional. Of these, 17.81 lacs wagons carried essential commodities like food grains, salt, sugar, milk, edible oil, onions, fruits & vegetables, petroleum products, coal, fertilizers etc. throughout the country.