Now you will not have to go to the station to find railway parcels! You will get live status sitting at home, know how?

There is a good news for the passengers traveling by Indian Railways as well as for the people sending their luggage or commercial goods through parcel. Till now, after booking a parcel from the Railways, customers had to make repeated trips to the railway station to know whether the goods arrived on time or not. But this will not happen now. Railway administration is going to revamp its entire parcel system, through which you will be able to track the live location and status of the parcel from moment to moment on your smartphone while sitting at home.

In fact, to make the Railway Parcel Booking service modern, digital and easy, the Railway Board has conducted a countrywide study. This special study team visited the three largest parcel offices of Delhi, New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin and Anand Vihar Railway Station. The team identified the practical problems faced by the customers at the ground level and submitted a detailed report to the Railway Board. The main objective of this report is to completely digitalize railway parcel services and thereby increase the revenue of Railways.

Shortcomings and customer problems in the current parcel system

• Distance and Clutter: At many stations, the parcel booking counter and the luggage handling area are far away from each other. Customers first have to complete the paperwork at one place and then go to another place with the goods.
• Goods going to wrong address: Due to lack of digital tracking and accurate labeling, many times parcels reach wrong stations.
• No update: In the current system, customers do not receive any automatic information about booking or delivery through SMS, email or app.
• Old Weighing Machines: At small stations, weighing and measuring is done with simple machines, due to which there is a possibility of error. Also, the lack of CCTV cameras creates difficulty in resolving theft or loss claims.

New parcel centers will be equipped with modern facilities

Under this new master plan of the Railway Board, the following changes will be made to make the parcel centers hi-tech:

• RFID and Software Tracking: Scanning of all parcels will be done with RFID technology, so that customers will be able to track their parcels live through a single app.
• Upgrade of PMS App: The capabilities of Railways’ Parcel Management System (PMS) app will be enhanced to make booking and tracking much smoother.
• Shuttle Service and Advanced Warehousing: Battery operated carts or small vans will be used to deliver goods to the platform. Also modern warehousing and mechanized handling system will be implemented.
• Temperature Control Storage: There will be provision for temperature controlled storage to keep perishable products (such as fruits, vegetables or medicines) safe.
• CCTV for security: To prevent theft and maintain transparency, a network of CCTV cameras will be installed throughout the campus.

Easy way to check live status at home

• First of all you have to go to the parcel portal of Indian Railways or the official app of Railways.
• On the homepage you will see the option of ‘Track Parcel’ or ‘Logistics Live Status’.
• Enter the receipt number or PRN (Parcel Receipt Number) received at the time of booking in the box.
• Once you fill the captcha code and submit, the complete journey of your parcel, current station and expected time of arrival (ETA) will appear on the screen.

Alert will also be received through SMS

There is no need to panic even if there is no smartphone or internet. Railways has also decided to start SMS alert service. As soon as the parcel is booked, loaded in the vehicle and reaches the final station, a message will be immediately sent to your registered mobile number. This will provide unprecedented help to small traders, farmers and general public of the country in managing their logistics. This digital step of Railways will definitely prove to be a game-changer for the country’s transportation and logistics sector.

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