PUNJAB EMERGES AS KEY RAIL-BASED FRUIT TRANSPORT HUB, FEROZPUR DIVISION SETS NEW RECORDS IN PERISHABLE CARGO MOVEMENT

Vikram Ditya Sharma/Ferozepur

Ferozpur Railway Division has achieved significant success in the transportation of perishable fruits, emerging as one of the country’s leading loading hubs for fruit consignments.

While divulging details, Sanjeev Kumar Divisional Railway Manager said that the division’s major railway stations, including Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar City, have witnessed a substantial increase in the movement of perishable fruits through both SLRs (Seating-cum-Luggage Rakes) and VPs (Parcel Vans), facilitating the transportation of fresh produce to markets across India.

“The growing confidence of traders in railway transportation has played a crucial role in this achievement. Besides large fruit merchants, small traders are also increasingly utilizing rail services by pooling their consignments with larger traders. The railway’s fast, safe and cost-effective transportation system has enabled them to access wider markets while significantly reducing transportation costs”, said DRM.

The DRM said that during June 2026, consignments of cherries and litchis were dispatched from Amritsar to destinations including Bandra Terminus (Mumbai), Surat and Vadodara, while litchis and pears were transported to Howrah and Kolkata. “Similarly, litchi consignments from Ludhiana were sent to Bina, Bhopal, Bandra Terminus, Patna, Surat, Pune and Kanpur. From Jalandhar City, fruit consignments were dispatched to Bina, Nagpur and Raipur”, he added.

Reflecting the scale of operations, Amritsar railway station alone recorded the booking of 20,410 boxes of perishable fruits weighing approximately 309 tonnes through SLR and VP services. Ludhiana registered bookings of 95 boxes weighing 1,630 kilograms, while Jalandhar City handled 515 boxes weighing 6,980 kilograms during the period.

Senior Divisional Commercial Manager (Freight) Paramdeep Singh Saini said that the Ferozpur Division remains committed to providing efficient, reliable and time-bound freight transportation services to its customers. He attributed the remarkable growth in freight traffic to the sustained efforts of the division’s Business Development Unit and its close coordination with traders, which have helped strengthen railway freight operations and expand market access for fruit growers and traders alike.