PTO - Preferential Traffic Order 2026-27

PTO - Preferential Traffic Order   

 

• Source: The PTO General Order No. 100  (for allotment of Wagons) w.e.f 01.04.2026. Unless canceled earlier, it will remain in force up to 31st March 2027  Click for GO No 100 dated 17.03.2026

• Section 70 of the Railways Act, 1989 - First comes first to serve - Basis for Booking and transportation of Goods.  No priority or No preference  

 

• Section 71 of Railway Act, 1989 - Orders are issued by Central Government to Railways Administration from time to time - For giving priority or preference to booking and transportation of particular types of commodities in the interest of the Nation / Public in General or for Industrial Development. 

 

• PTO - Preferential Traffic Order - Published by the Central Govt in Gazette and informed the Railway Administration.  

 

• PTO validity - 1 Year.  

 

• The priority route is decided and Goods are carried by that route only

  

General Instructions:  

•  Block Rake traffic is preferred over Peice-meal Traffic. 

•  Traffic will have preference over other Traffic within the same class of Priority in the following order: 

 

1. Traffic guaranteed under special Schemes 

2. Traffic in rakes loaded from the Good shed of the station having round the clock working

3. Traffic booked from Full rake handling siding having mechanized loading facility.

4. Traffic offered for distance of more than 600 Kms within the same classification  

5. Single Point Block rakes over two-point / multipoint mini rakes  

6. Wednesday & Saturday shall be reserved and notified for allotment of rakes as per the ODR - Date of Registration irrespective of the class of priority.   

7. Monday & Friday will be  nominated two days for according higher priority to traffic covered under Premium Indent Scheme

•  Any Traffic under special orders of the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board) / Zonal Railways 

Priority	Traffic
A	Military Traffic sponsored by MILRAIL and approved by the Railway Board
B	Emergency Relief works (for natural calamities like floods, drought, earthquakes etc)  - Sponsored by an Officer, not below the rank of Dy.Secretary of Central / State Government or by a Non-Government Organisation. All Food grains except quota traffic notified by the Railway Board.  Levy Sugar for PDS - Public Distribution System & other welfare programs sponsored by FCI - Food Corporation of India / State Govts or their agencies approved by the Railway Board. Proposals for sponsorship of any other commodity by a Central Govt agency  will require specific approval of the Railway Board.
C	1	Coal	i) Sponsoring authority is Public Sector Coal - Accepting authority is ED/RM, Kolkata for ER, ECR, SER, SECR & ECoR  ii) Sponsoring authority is Private coal companies - Accepting authority is COM/CFTM of other Zonal Railways iii) Sponsoring authority is Coal Importers - Accepting authority is PCOM/CFTM of respective Zonal Railways
	2	Iron Ore	Sub - Priority	Traffic Type
			C +	From Customer’s own private siding to his own private siding at unloading end of for domestic manufacturer
			C	One end to other end, the Customer is having his own private siding at either end for domestic manufacture
			C -	One end to the other end, the Customer not owned by him at both ends.
	3	Other than 1 & 2	i) Non - refined Edible Salt - For the States of West Bengal, Assam, Sikkim & Tripura  - Sponsored by the respective State Governments .  For the other States  - The Sponsored by Salt Commissioner & Accepted by the Zonal Railways (Amendment 2 to GO.98 dated 02.08.2024) ii) Common Salt to approved iodization plants - For the States of West Bengal, Assam, Sikkim & Tripura  - Sponsored by the respective State Governments .  For the other States  - The Sponsored by Salt Commissioner & Accepted by the Zonal Railways (Amendment 2 to GO.98 dated 02.08.2024) iii) Fertilizer - Sponsored by Fertilizer manufacturers / Importers  - Accepted by the Zonal Railways  iv) POL - Petroleum, Oil & Lubricants - Sponsored by Oil companies - Accepted by the Railway Board
D	All other Traffic not included in A, B & C

Key points for MCQ 

1. PTO stands for Preferential Traffic Order 

2. PTO validity - 1 Year   

3. PTO - Issued by Central Govt and published in Gazette

4. No of Priorities under PTO - 4 

5. MIL RAIL - Military wing of the Railways  (Office at Sena Bhawan, Army Hqrs) 

6. Railways Act - Year 1989 (The First act in 1890)

7. PDS stands for Public Distribution System 

8. RMS stands for Raw Material for Steel plants 

9. POL stands for Petroleum, Oil, & Lubricants 

10. ED/RM - Executive Director Rail Movement

11. SCO stands for Salt Commissioner Organization - Hqrs - Jaipur

12. Salt Commissioner is working under DPIIT 

13. DPIIT stands for Department for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (Ministry of Commerce & Industry)

14. Wednesday and Saturday are fixed for allotment of Rakes as per the date of registration, irrespective of the class of priority. 

15. Monday and Friday will be nominated two days for higher priority to traffic covered under Premium Indent Scheme.

*****

CATP - Cargo Aggregator Transportation Product - Traffic Accounts

 

CATP - Cargo Aggregator Transportation Product

Source: Rates Circular 03 of 2024 CATP

• CATP stands for Cargo Aggregator Transportation Product (supersedes Freight Forwarder Scheme)

• RC Rates Circular No.: 03/2024 Effective from: 15.03.2024

• Objective: Cargo aggregation + wider commodity basket

• Excluded Commodities: Coal, Ores, Iron/Steel, Slag

• Minimum Lead: 300 km

• Permitted Wagons: Covered wagons (BCN, BCNA, BCNAHS, BCNHL)

• Mini Rake: Minimum 20 wagons

• Floor Rate: ≥ NTR of Class LR-1

• CG Registration: Mandatory in eRD

• Security Deposit: ₹1 lakh (non-refundable)

• Validity: Division-wise

• Indenting Authority: Only CG can place indent

CG Role:

• Aggregates cargo
• Places indent
• Coordinates consignors/consignees
• Responsible for loading & unloading

Freight Liability:

• Consignor/consignee primary
• CG responsible in case of default

Forwarding Note:

• Can be single initially
• Full details later at loading

• Commodity Change: Up to 20% wagons allowed

• RR Type: Prepaid, “Said to Contain”

• Multiple RR: Allowed

• Concession: Only 6% for NER traffic

Misdeclaration:

• >2 commodities → Class 200
• Others → normal rules

• Freight Basis: Wagon-wise, trainload class

Key points for MCQ

1. CG registration is division-specific

2. No prior Railway approval needed for customer list

3. Floor rate cannot go below LR-1 

4. CG: Cargo Aggregator

5. eRD: electronic Registration of Demand module

6. RR: Railway Receipt

7. NTR: Normal Tariff Rate

8. NER: North Eastern Region

JPP-RCS - Joint Parcel Product-Rapid Cargo Service

 

JPP-RCS

Features: 

• Stands for Joint Parcel Product-Rapid cargo Service

• Partnership: Indian Railways and India Post

• Object: Seamless, door-to-door logistics solutions for consignments. 

• Integrated Service: India Post handles first-mile pickup and last-mile delivery, while Indian Railways manages the main transit between stations. 

First Mile	Transit between  First Mile & Last Mile	Last Mile
India Post	Indian Railways	India Post

• VAP - Virtual Aggregation Platform - An online platform developed by Indian Railways to facilitate load aggregation from multiple customers, allowing for efficient booking and tracking of consignments. 

• Time-Tabled Services: Operates on scheduled parcel trains, ensuring timely and reliable delivery of goods. (like Passenger trains) 

• Affordable Tariffs -  India Post charging Rs.6 per KG for combined pickup and delivery within municipal limits 

• Insurance coverage by third part - at 0.03% of Consignment value plus GST 

• SPOC - Single Point Of Contact: India Post act as SPC throughout the process - to interact  

• Leveraging the extensive network of both IR & India Post

First ever JPP-RCS Service - Features

•  From Budgam(J&K) to Adarsh Nagar (New Delhi)

• Pilot Project for 1 Year 

• Approved by Railway Board (on 20th August, 2025)

• By Jammu Division of Northern Railway.

• Operated Daily

• Transit time:  Estimated to take approximately 23 hours, which is notably faster than the conventional road transport between Budgam and Delhi

• Consists of 8 Parcel Vans (VPs) and 1 Seating cum Luggage Rake (SLR) 

• To streamline operations, loading and unloading facilities will be provided at Bari Brahmana (BBMN) station in addition to Budgam and Adarsh Nagar 

 Benefits: 

1. Cost-effective, efficient, and reliable alternative for transporting goods 

2. Boosting Railways’ share in the courier & freight logistics. 

3.  Benefit Kashmiri producers and traders, particularly those dealing in dry fruits, handicrafts, saffron, apples, walnuts, Pashmina shawls, and carpets  

Key Points for MCQ: 

1. JPP-RCS - Joint Parcel Product-Rapid Cargo Service

2. VAP - Virtual Aggregation Platform

3. SPOC - Single Point Of Contact 

4. Partners: IR & India Post  

5. First ever service: Budgam(J&K) to Adarsh Nagar (New Delhi)

6. Pilot Project: 1 year (Assessment at 6 Months)