Postal Manual Vol. VIII - India Post

(3) Time bill should ordnarily be prescribed for use only on long important mail lines other
than railway lines; and they should not ordinarily be used between a head office and a town suboffice
or between a post office and the local railway station. When more than one Division is
concerned, the Superintendents should decide the question by mutual consultation.
(4) The Superintendent may, when he considers it advisable, order the time bill for any
particular mail line or all the time bills used in his division, to be sent to him each day by the
terminal office.
172. Speed of mails on mail lines.-(1) The speed at which letter mails are carried by
runners on main through lines is a matter of great importance and requires the particular attention
of the Superintendent. The rate of speed should ordinarily be five miles an hour; and the hour of
departure from, and arrival at, the terminal offices, the time allowed for sorting and transit work at
intermediate offices, and the authorised detentions at ferries and other places where the mails are
subject to delay should be fixed by the Superintendent with the approval of the Postmaster-
General.
(2) As a general rule, separate parcel mails will be conveyed only over main lines, and a
separate establishment of parcel mail runners will, therefore, be required only on such lines. With
the ordinary limit of weight to be carried by each parcel mail runner, an average speed of three
miles an hour should be maintained. On branch lines, parcels will ordinarily travel enclosed in mail
bags, and even when parcel bags are despatched on such lines, they will usually be carried by the
letter mail runners.
NOTE 1.- The rules in this section apply generallt to mails conveyed by boat. In the case of
mail cart lines on which the mails are carried under contract, the speed will depend on the terms of
the contract.
NOTE 2.- For limits of weight of mails see rule 135 of the Posts and Telegraphs Manual
Volume V. The sizes of bags in which mails are to be packed should be fixed with reference to
these limits.
173. Road establishments.- The road establishment of each mail line, i.e., the number of
runners employed to carry the mails, will depend on the length of the line and the weight of mails
ordinarily to be conveyed. Wherever practicable, the same runner should be required to carry mails
in both directions over his stage.
174. Transmission of packets.- (1) The Superintendent must prescribe in what cases
heavy packets are to be despatched in packet bags with the parcel mail. Whenever heavy packets
registered and unregistered, will not delay the transit of the letter mail they should be sent as part
of the letter mail and be dealt with like other packets. When, however, a different mode or means
of transit has been arranged for the parcel mail from that adopted for the letter mail, e.g., when
there is a separate set of runners for the parcel mail, or when the letter mail is sent by road and the
parcel mail by boat or steamer, it must be assumed that the arrangement has been adopted because
the transmission of heavy articles with the letter mail would delay it; and in such cases, therefore,
and in such cases only, heavy packets, registered and unregistered, should be sent with the parcel
mail and not with the letter mail.
(2) Whenever, in accordance with this principle, heavy packets are to travel with the parcel
mail, packet bags must be prescribed for the heavy packets; and the sorting list of the last sorting
office or section at or before the point from which the parcel mail travels by a mode or means of
transit different form that of the letter mail and of the offices on the parcel mail line should
contain instructions for the preparation of the packet bags.