In a first, Amazon consignment ferried by train from Sealdah to Dankuni in West Bengal

The railways' initiative to rope in Amazon for transporting its goods by train was flagged off by the Eastern Railways on Monday, when the Sealdah-Dankuni EMU local carried a consignment of the e-commerce giant on board.

Under the pilot project, the railways will allow e-commerce consignments on its EMU services in the non-peak hours.

The project has initially been launched for a period of three months, where a total consignment of 7 MT has been allowed to be carried per day. The rate chargeable is the luggage rate at Rs 5,537 per day.

The pilot project of booking consignments in EMU services was a first of its kind in the Indian Railways, officials said. The service allows Amazon to ferry goods faster and gives the railways an assured income, an official spokesperson said, explaining the benefits of the contract.

The consignment is allowed to be carried in the vendor compartment, along with other vendors, in the non-peak hours - 11 am to 4 pm - thus, causing no disruption or inconvenience to the existing system.

"The railways will be benefitted through generation of revenue, without putting any additional stress or burden on the existing system, whereas Amazon will be benefitted through a reduced transit time.

"The route viz. Sealdah to Dankuni was preferred by Amazon for quick movement of their consignment to the existing facility at Dankuni. Upon success of the pilot project, other routes may also be taken up by Amazon and other e-commerce companies may also be interested," the spokesperson said.