Indian Railways flags off first 'Kisan Rail'

Indian Railways rolled out its first 'Kisan Rail' on Friday between the states of Maharashtra and Bihar. The train was flagged off by Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar over video conferencing.

New Delhi:In a bid to give a boost to the income of farmers, Indian Railways started the services of 'Kisan Rail', on Friday, which will transport perishable goods like fruits, vegetables and milk.

The train was flagged off by Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar via video conferencing. This is India's first-ever 'Kisan Rail' which would run between Devlali and Danapur, covering 1,519 kilometres in 32 hours.

While addressing the event, Goyal said, "The Kisan Rail service will boost the income levels of Indian farmers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes that Indian Railways is the engine which will drive the country's growth prospects. Despite the difficulties brought by COVID-19 outbreak, our farmers and Railway ensured that there will not be any shortage of food supply."

"In future, Indian farmers will be Aatma-Nirbhar and prosperous, while continuing his service to the nation. We'll extend this service across the country. I believe when we would be able to transport Kashmir's apple to Kanyakumari, that would be the greatest achievement," he further added.

The Kisan Rail was announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget speech of the year 2020, to set up a train under Public-Private Partnership model to create a cold supply chain for transporting perishable goods.

While Agriculture Minister asserted that the train would help farmers to get the due for their produce. He said, "Kisan Rail and Kisan Udan were announced to ensure farmers are able to avail robust transport facilities. Although Covid-19 was a stumbling block. I am proud that Indian farmers displayed immense grit to continue farming activities."

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

The train will run on a weekly basis. This is the first-ever multi-commodity train. It will also have frozen containers to build a seamless national cold supply chain for perishables, inclusive of fish, meat and milk.