The postal department expects to save time and
cost by operating the vans to various places in the State —File Photo
In an effort aimed at improving delivery and
reducing dependence on rail transport, the department of posts has started
operating mail vans to places across the State.
Starting on a pilot basis, the department is
now operating mail vans between Chennai and Madurai via Tiruchi, and between
Chennai and Coimbatore via Salem. At present, nearly 75,000 mails and parcels,
on an average, are processed and transported through trains every day.
The department expects to save a minimum of
two or three hours by operating the mail vans, and reduce the cost of
transportation through the rail network by 50 per cent. “We plan to speed up
delivery within the same postal region to the same day,” said Mervin Alexander,
postmaster general (Chennai city region).
Officials of the postal department noted that
operation of mail vans would also reduce congestion at railway stations.
“Instead of transporting mail to railway stations and waiting to load them
according to train schedules, we may save a few hours by operating mail vans
directly to the post offices in other places,” an official said.
Subhash C. Barmma, postmaster general (mails
and marketing), said, “We are exploring more routes including Madurai to
Coimbatore and Chennai to Puducherry and Villupuram. We also plan to tap the
e-commerce market by transporting mails through the road network.”
Earlier, dedicated rail coaches were used to
transport mails. Now, mail bags are loaded on unreserved passenger coaches,
thereby posing inconvenience to commuters and sometimes resulting in damage to
goods.
Officials, recalling instances of mails
falling onto railway tracks, said delivery through the road network would ensure
safer delivery, and reduce damage to mail bags, which, at present, are pilfered
at the rate of one or two per cent. More mail vans will be operated depending
on the success of the pilot project, officials said.
