(ET)
The pandemic has forced Indian Railways to innovate its business model and look for new streams of traffic through its zonal units. A case in point is a move by the Palakkad division of Southern Railway to transport refined palm oil packed in 15litre tins and 10litre carton boxes in 42 BCN rake from Panambur station to Lucknow. KAMCO power tillers have also been sent from Palakkad station to northern eastern states.
Recently, South Central Railway had also made a first-of-its-kind move to run international parcel express carrying dried red chillies from Guntur to Bangladesh. To aid this process, zonal and divisional railways, under the respective zones, have set up business development units (BDUs), including one at Palakkad railway division that has jurisdiction over Mangaluru.
BDU caters to the transportation needs of various sectors, including non-bulk goods traffic like white goods, finished goods, manufactured products, agricultural produce and raw material. It will facilitate industry/ trade representatives and rail freight customers to get in touch with the railways at zonal and divisional levels and help in expeditious clearance of their proposals for freight movement, which will benefit both the industry and the railways.
