BENGALURU: The Rail Mail Service (RMS), which was launched in 1984, on the premises of the KSR Bengaluru City railway station, shut shop this weekend.
Its operations have now been split and relocated to three offices in Bengaluru Postal Division.
Soaring rents to be paid for this prime location and a significant quantity of mail being despatched via air and road are the major reasons for the Postal department to vacate the RMS Building, an iconic white building dotted with white letterings on multiple red boards, at the main entry of the station.
It was on May 23, 1984 that the then Minister of State for Communications VN Gadgil inaugurated the building in the presence of the Minister of State for Railways CK Jaffer Sharief.
“We have ample space in our offices spread across Bengaluru. Hence, we decided to shift all the parcels to our Peenya centre, the registered and Speed Post articles to the basement of GPO and the unregistered letters and items to our Mysore Road office. We have reworked our scheduling so that the parcels can be brought by vehicles and loaded onto the trains,” revealed a source from the department.
Postal department pays a whopping Rs 39 lakh monthly rent to the Bengaluru Railway Division. “The rents have gradually risen annually, and we got to know it could touch upto Rs 49 lakh. This is a huge burden for us, so we decided to shift the operations,” said another source.
The Commercial Department of Railways confirmed that the RMS was moving out of the railway station premises, but did not elaborate on the specifics of the rent.
A small space to house the Transit Mail Office would be taken. “This is to house the mail bags that are to be despatched, and would be far more economical,” the source said. “The sorting of mail to be sent or received can be done anywhere in the city,” he added.