KOCHI: The Thiruvananthapuram division of the Railways, which is running daily parcel special service trains from Thiruvananthapuram Central to Kozhikode and Chennai Egmore, launched home delivery and pick-up of parcels from Tuesday.The service will initially be available at Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam Town, Aluva and Thrissur. It will be provided till the end of the lockdown or for the next one month, whichever is later.
The division has tied up with the Kerala Circle of India Posts to provide the facility to customers. A memorandum of understanding in this regard was signed by Rajesh Chandran, IRTS, senior divisional commercial manager, Thiruvananthapuram Division, and Sayeed Rasheed, Director of Postal Services, Kerala Circle in the presence of Shirish Kumar Sinha, Divisional Railway Manager, Thiruvananthapuram.
Under the arrangement, postal personnel will collect parcels from the consigner’s premises and get them booked. The trans-shipment will be done through the Railways from the nearest station to the destination station. From there, the parcels will be collected and delivered to consignees at their doorstep.
A nominal charge will be collected from the consigner under Logistics Post levied by India Posts, in addition to the charges levied by the Indian Railways. Consigners may call the Rail Posts dedicated phone numbers – 0471-2464425; 9447957388; 9633973640 – in advance to book the parcel or call the 24x7 railway parcel helpline number 9567869381 for assistance. Customers may avail of the facility to transport up to 3.5 tonnes of their items as a single shipment.
The process
Postal personnel will collect parcels from the consigner’s premises. The trans-shipment will be done through the Railways from the nearest station to the destination station.