Amazon Transportation Services Pvt Ltd (Amazon India) and the Ministry of Indian Railways have taken a significant step towards bolstering their partnership with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today. This agreement aims to further strengthen the collaboration between the two entities for the reliable and fast transportation of Amazon India packages through the Indian Railways’ extensive regional network.
The MoU outlines a plan to establish a hub-and-spoke model for one origin-destination pair, with the intention of scaling up the model across the railway network based on the learnings from this initiative. Key areas of focus include optimizing first and last-mile logistics, reducing transit times, exploring cost-effective options, and identifying policy enablers to increase parcel volumes transported via railways. Amazon India will also provide recommendations to enhance the speed and reliability of the distribution network for parcel logistics through rail.
“Our association with the Indian Railways aligns with the government’s vision to leverage this iconic institution for India’s economic growth. It also reflects our focus on providing our customers across India access to unparalleled selection with fast and reliable deliveries. Since 2019, we have collaborated to create an innovative logistics model that combines Amazon’s e-commerce expertise with Indian Railways’ vast and reliable network. This continues to enable fast delivery of crores of products across the country. Going forward, we remain committed to driving more innovations alongside the Indian Railways to better serve our customers,” said Abhinav Singh, Vice President, Operations, Amazon India.
Ravinder Goyal, Member (Operations and Business Development), Railway Board, Indian Railways, also expressed his support for the collaboration, stating, “I commend Amazon for the MOU signed with Indian Railways. This collaboration and partnership will further help railways to understand the need of e-commerce businesses and plan transport services accordingly. The MOU is an important step towards enhancing the movement of e-commerce cargo through Indian Railways. I encourage the e-commerce sector to leverage the efficiency and sustainability of rail transport to streamline their logistics needs. Indian Railways has launched many parcel services as well as the Virtual Aggregation Platform (VAP) to ease and encourage the adoption of rail for parcel delivery and I therefore appeal to the e-commerce business to use this facility for mutual gain.”
This MoU marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing collaboration between Amazon India and Indian Railways, aiming to deliver faster, more reliable services to meet the growing demands of the e-commerce sector across the country.