The Indian Railways round-trip parcel discount scheme will allow parcel aggregators to book return journeys at 1.5 times the applicable one-way fare. The move aims to attract logistics operators and shift more cargo from road to rail ahead of the festive season.
A circular issued by the Railway Board on Monday said the scheme would take effect immediately and operate as a one-year pilot. The arrangement offers a 25 per cent reduction in the combined freight charge compared with paying the one-way fare twice.
The discount does not apply universally to all railway parcel bookings. Instead, it targets parcel aggregators using the Joint Parcel Product – Rapid Cargo Service (JPP-RCS) network.
A senior railway official told The Economic Times that the initiative would expand efforts to bring more road cargo onto the rail network.
Indian Railways parcel discount targets return cargo
The new scheme applies to all existing and future JPP-RCS routes, with two exceptions. The Patel Nagar (PTNR) route in Delhi and the Chitpur (CP) route in Kolkata are excluded because separate discounted-freight pilots already operate on these routes.
The Railway Board said the measure aims to improve utilisation of JPP-RCS trains in the return direction and divert freight from roads to railways.
Under the arrangement, aggregators must commit to a round-trip booking to receive the lower combined charge. This is intended to make return journeys more attractive and improve cargo utilisation on trains travelling back along their routes.
The existing JPP-RCS policy offered graded discounts of 5 to 10 per cent on return journeys, depending on volume. These discounts will remain suspended during the new pilot.
New parcel freight scheme builds on earlier pilot
The latest initiative follows an earlier experiment with discounted return and round-trip freight. An internal Railway study cited a March 2025 pilot on selected routes, which offered a 50 per cent return-trip rate through a round-trip charge of 1.35 times the applicable scale.
The new formula sets the combined charge at 1.5 times the one-way fare. Its effectiveness will depend on whether the lower upfront cost encourages more aggregators to commit to return bookings.
The pilot comes ahead of the Diwali and Christmas festive period, when businesses typically prepare for higher movement of goods.
Indian Railways parcel earnings rise to ₹2,065 crore
Indian Railways earned ₹2,064.83 crore from parcel services in 2024-25, an increase of 2.8 per cent from ₹2,009.30 crore in the previous financial year, according to its latest annual report.
Parcel earnings account for around 1 per cent of the national transporter’s freight revenue. However, the segment provides an additional source of income amid high recurring costs and limited scope for increasing passenger and freight fares.
The Railways is seeking to improve asset utilisation and strengthen revenue generation as it works towards its operating ratio goals. The new round-trip pricing arrangement is intended to support these efforts by attracting additional cargo and improving utilisation of trains on return journeys.
