The railway ministry and Amazon India have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen their partnership for the efficient and timely delivery of Amazon packages via the Indian Railways‘ extensive regional network. A press release from Amazon India revealed that under the MoU, both parties will work together to create a hub-and-spoke model for a specific origin-destination pair, using the insights gained to scale the model across the network.
Improving First and Last-Mile Delivery:
“The plan addresses first and last-mile needs, transit times, cost options, and policy enablers to increase parcel volumes on the railways. Additionally, Amazon India will offer recommendations to enhance the speed and reliability of the parcel logistics network through the railways,” the release stated.
“This development aims to provide more reliable operational timelines to better meet the needs of the e-commerce sector,” it added.
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The release quoted Ravinder Goyal, Member (Operations and Business Development) of the Railway Board: “I applaud Amazon for signing the MoU with Indian Railways. This partnership will enhance our understanding of e-commerce requirements and enable us to plan transport services more effectively.”
“The MoU marks a significant step in improving the transport of e-commerce cargo via Indian Railways. I urge the e-commerce sector to take advantage of the efficiency and sustainability of rail transport to optimize their logistics. Indian Railways has introduced various parcel services, including the Virtual Aggregation Platform (VAP), to simplify and promote the use of rail for parcel delivery. I, therefore, encourage e-commerce businesses to utilize these services for mutual benefit,” Goyal said.
Abhinav Singh, Vice President of Operations at Amazon India, stated that the company’s partnership with Indian Railways aligns with the government’s vision of leveraging this institution to drive India’s economic growth.
“It also highlights our commitment to offering customers across India a wide selection with fast and dependable deliveries. Since 2019, we have worked together to develop an innovative logistics model that merges Amazon’s e-commerce expertise with the extensive and reliable network of Indian Railways,” Singh said.
The release highlighted the company’s partnership with the railways, noting that Amazon India began collaborating with Indian Railways in 2019. Amazon became the first company in the Indian e-commerce sector to partner with the national transporter, developing an express transportation solution via rail to carry parcel wagons on the Rajdhani Express along the Mumbai-Delhi route.
“Over the past five years, Amazon has significantly expanded its operations, growing from one train in 2019 to over 120 trains in 2024, covering 130 intercity routes across 91 unique destination cities via railways. This marks a 15-fold increase in the movement of Amazon’s parcels through railway lanes since the company began its partnership with Indian Railways in 2019,” the release stated.
“Amazon India’s partnership with Indian Railways has been instrumental in enabling the company to fulfil one-day and two-day delivery promises to customers across the country,” it added.
The release noted that Amazon India deepened its partnership with Indian Railways in 2023 by becoming the first e-commerce logistics company to utilize dedicated freight corridors. These corridors are designed to alleviate congestion on the existing rail network, increase the average speed of freight trains, facilitate heavy-haul train operations, connect ports and industrial areas for faster freight movement, and reduce overall logistics costs.
