Railways flags off first-ever Kisan Rail from Maharashtra to Bihar

August 7, 2020: Union minister of agriculture and farmers welfare, rural development and panchyati raj, Narendra Singh Tomar and minister of railways and commerce & industry, Piyush Goyal today flagged off Indian Railways' first-ever Kisan Rail from Devlali in Maharashtra to Danapur in Bihar via video conferencing.

The train will run on a weekly basis with an initial composition of 10 +1 VPs. The train will reach Danapur at 18:45 hrs tomorrow (August 8) covering the journey of 1519 kilometres in 31:45 hrs.

Frozen containers for fruits veggies & perishables
Indian Railways aims to help double farmers’ income with the launch of Kisan Rail. This train will help in bringing perishable agricultural products like vegetables, fruits to the market in a short period of time. The train with frozen containers is expected to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, inclusive of fish, meat and milk.

Indian Railways have earlier run single commodity special trains like Banana Specials etc. But this will be the first-ever multi-commodity trains and will carry fruits like pomegranate, banana, grapes etc and vegetables like capsicum, cauliflower, drumsticks, cabbage, onion and chillies.

"Aggressive marketing is being done with local farmers, loaders, APMC and individuals. Demand is being aggregated. It is expected that the train will be patronised well and will be a great help to the farmers, as the freight of this train will be charged as per parcel tariff of the normal train (P Scale), " noted the release.

Indian Railways introduced first "Kisan Rail”, a special Parcel Train from Devlali (Maharashtra) to Danapur (Bihar)#KisanRail https://t.co/jKY6DTSTK1 pic.twitter.com/Z8fAkdgTDw

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) August 7, 2020

Narendra Singh Tomar said, “Kisan Rail will ensure that agro-products reach from one corner to another corner of the country. This train will also benefit farmers and consumers.”

Piyush Goyal said, “I am looking forward to seeing the day when apples of Kashmir reach Kanyakumari through Kisan Rail.”

Bhusawal Division of Central Railway
Over Central Railway, Bhusawal Division is primarily an Agro-based division. Nasik and the surrounding region produces a huge quantity of fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers, other perishables, onions and other agro products. These perishables are mainly transported to areas around Patna, Prayagraj, Katni, Satna etc.

This train has been provided scheduled halts at Nasik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Itarsi, Jabalpur, Satna, Katni, Manikpur, Prayagraj Chheoki, Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Nagar and Buxar.

Chargeable rates for major pair of stations
Freight per Tonne:

Nasik Road/Devlali to Danapur	Rs. 4001
Manmad to Danapur	Rs. 3849
Jalgaon to Danapur	Rs. 3513
Bhusawal to Danapur	Rs. 3459
Burhanpur to Danapur	Rs. 3323
Khandwa to Danapur	Rs. 3148