Amazon expands partnership with Railways for deliveries in festive season

National transporter enables company to meet delivery promises to customers in the hinterlands

Amazon said on Wednesday it is strengthening its engagement with the Indian Railways for moving customer packages on 325 inter-city routes.

This is a five-fold increase in routes since the e-commerce firm began working with the Indian Railways in 2019. The Railways enables the company to make one- and two-day delivery to customers in towns and smaller cities. With this expansion, Amazon India will ferry packages to Jharsuguda, Ratnagiri, Kurnool, Nanded, Bareilly, Bokaro and Rudrapur.

The expansion is in line with the company’s need to ensure timely deliveries during the festive season October to December. “We are focused on providing a fast and convenient shopping experience to our customers, no matter where they live across the length and breadth of the country,” said Venkatesh Tiwari, director at Amazon Transportation, India. “Working with the Indian Railways helps us further that commitment. We will continue to engage with the Indian Railways and create more opportunities to use the strong network and infrastructure built by them.”

Amazon was the first company in the Indian e-commerce space to work with the Indian Railways to build an express transportation product via rail in 2019. Since then it has continued to increase the volume of packages transported through this network. During lockdowns in 2020 to contain the coronavirus, the company worked with the Indian Railways to transport high-priority products.

Amazon India delivers to all 100 per cent serviceable pin codes, with more than 97 per cent of such places now being able to receive their deliveries within two days of placing an order.