Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Friday flagged off India's first Kisan Special Parcel Train or Kisan Rail from  Deolali in Nashik to Danapur in Bihar, through video-conferencing.

Tomar also said that Indian Railways had operated 4,610 trains on 96 routes to ensure suffient supply of food items across the country amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Minister of state for railways Suresh Angadi, Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Devendra Fadanvis, Maharashtra Minister Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Chhagan Bhujbal were among the dignitaries present to witness the occassion.

It is a weekly sevice that will depart from Deolali every Friday at 11 AM and reach Danapur the next day at 6.45 PM.

The train will depart from Danapur every Sunday at 12 pm and reach Deolali at 7.45 pm the next day.

Kisan Rail will carry fruits and vegetables and will make stoppages at several stations and pickup and deliver them. There will be no seating arrangement in the train as it is not meant to carry regular passengers. The parcel trains will have a composition of 10+1 coaches.

"In order to serve the purpose of the farming community of the country, Kisan Rail shall be trains with multi commodities, multi-consignors and multi consignees. These trains shall run between fixed Origin–Destination pairs with en-route stoppages, and loading/ unloading shall be permitted at any of the en-route stoppage. The Origin–Destination pairs, routes, stoppages, and frequency of the train shall be decided jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare and Ministry of Railways. Indian Railways will plan to run the trains accordingly," press release issued by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare stated.

The train will cover the routes viz, Devlali - Nasik Road, Manmad, Jalgaon, Bhusaval, Burhanpur, Khandwa, ltarsi, Jabalpur, Satna,Katni, Manikpur, Prayagraj Chheoki, Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Nagar and Buxar. Devlali falls under Maharashtra's Bhusawal division adjoining Nashik which is known for its vegetables, fruits and flowers which are being sent to the entire North Indian region covering Patna, Pryagraj and Katni.

The Kisan Rail project was mentioned by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her presentation of the Union Budget 2020-21.