Kanda Express arrives in Delhi as onion prices soar
The first ‘Kanda Express’, a dedicated railway rake carrying around 453.65 tonnes of onions from Nashik in Maharashtra, reached Delhi on Friday as the Centre stepped up efforts to improve supplies and contain rising onion prices in the national capital and surrounding areas.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said the train arrived with 21 wagons carrying the onion stock. The onions, sourced from the government’s buffer stock stored in Nashik, will be sold in Delhi-NCR at a subsidised price of Rs 35 per kg. Part of the consignment will also be transported to nearby cities, including Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jammu.
The rake was initially scheduled to arrive on Wednesday but was delayed following protests by some groups in Nashik. The local administration subsequently brought the situation under control, allowing the train to depart, Khare said.
The Centre currently maintains around 1.21 lakh tonnes of onions under its Price Stabilisation Fund. Khare said another Kanda Express rake would be loaded for Chennai on Friday, followed by consignments for Madurai, Ernakulam and Guwahati.
The government expects the release of buffer stock to ease retail prices in Delhi within a week. Onion prices in the capital had risen sharply to Rs 62 per kg on Thursday, up 88 per cent from Rs 33 per kg a year earlier, according to Consumer Affairs Ministry data.
The all-India average retail price stood at Rs 46.58 per kg, while the average wholesale price was Rs 38.29 per kg.
Despite the price rise, Khare said onion availability remains adequate to meet domestic demand in the coming months. Onion production for 2025-26 is estimated at 307.37 lakh tonnes, broadly in line with the 307.67 lakh tonnes produced in the previous year.
The Kanda Express initiative, launched in 2024-25 to facilitate large-scale movement of onions by rail, has expanded considerably. Fourteen rakes carrying nearly 12,000 tonnes of buffer onions were dispatched to five cities in 2024-25. In 2025-26, the number rose to 86 rakes carrying around 88,000 tonnes to 16 major cities.
with inputs from PTI
