Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is set to totally replace physical rail receipts by eT-RR (Electronic Transmission of Railway Receipt) soon.
NFR said it is issuing about 76 per cent of its total receipts through eT-RR. Rail receipts are issued to entities which transport goods by Indian Railways (IR). It is an acknowledgement of receipt of goods for transportation by rail.
According to the earlier system, the printed railway receipt generated was given to the sender of the consignment (consignor). This receipt was issued only after the goods were loaded with the sender having paid all freight charges.
The sender then had to transfer the rail receipt to the receiver (consignee) by post /courier. This helped the receiver to take delivery of goods at the destination.
This, because, IR delivers a consignment at the destination station only when the receiver surrenders the original rail receipt.
Now eT-RR, is a mandatory document, for effecting delivery of goods, is generated, transmitted and surrendered or deposited electronically.
Benefits of eT-RR
The new system of eT-RR ensures that the consignee received the eT-RR immediately. This eliminates any delay in taking delivery which used to happen in case of physical rail receipt.
Delay in delivery happened when goods reached the destination faster than the courier carrying the original rail receipt. Electronic transfer of railway receipts is safer as it also eliminates the loss of rail receipt in transit.
NFR has enabled the system of generating eT-RR in almost all its the freight business locations. The entire process is carried through FOIS portal (https://www.fois.indianrail.gov.in).
How to use
First, freight customers (both consignors and consignees) have to pre-register themselves railway division nearest to them. They are then allotted a Global Customer Code (GCC). Using the GCC, they can register themselves with the FOIS portal to avail eT-RR facility.
Security
eT-RR is a secure system.It requires electronic authentication at each step be it generation, transmission or surrender of rail receipt.
Authentication is done through user IDs and passwords, unique system generated Freight Number Record (FNR) and one-time password (OTP). FNR number and OTPs are sent only to registered e-mail IDs and mobile numbers of customers.
Now order wagons digitally
IR has also introduced a system called Electronic Registration of demand (e-RD) for wagons. Entities can order wagons through the e-RD module through FOIS portal.
A total of 3895 customers have registered under e-RD. NFR said that 75 per cent of the total wagon demand is being booked through e-RD.
