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.
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