The key benefits of the FBD Portal are:

Convenience: Freight customers can use the FBD Portal to book freight, track shipments, and get freight rates from a single location. 

Transparency: The FBD Portal provides freight related information with greater transparency into the freight transportation process. This can help freight customers to make better decisions about their freight transportation. 

Efficiency: The FBD Portal helps to improve the efficiency of the freight transportation system. This saves a lot of  time and effort both for the freight customers as well as Railways. 

To use the FBD Portal, freight customers need to create an account. Once an account has been created, freight customers can log in to the portal and access the various services that are available.

Some of the key features of the FBD Portal include:

Freight booking: Freight customers can use the FBD Portal to book freight online and need not visit Goods shed or terminals. 

Terminal Dashboard : One of the key features is the Terminal Dashboard, which allows customers to select a suitable terminal for loading and unloading based on their preferences and requirements. It provides information about the facilities available at each terminal and even shows the location on a GIS map. Indenting of wagons are also done through this portal as well as selection of OD pairs, rake allotment, online registration of demand through e-RD and online payment and generation of eT-RR. 

Wagon Selector : Another useful feature is the Wagon Selector, which helps new customers find the right wagon for their cargo. With over 170 types of freight wagons available, this feature presents a catalogue of wagons used by other customers in the past, along with details such as carrying capacity and preferred wagons for specific freights. The expected transit time of the commodity from loading to unloading is also shown. 

Smart Freight Calculator : The portal also includes a Smart Freight Calculator that estimates freight charges between origin and destination stations. It takes into account various incentive schemes applicable to different commodities, wagons, and terminals. It also suggests alternative terminals that are less congested and eligible for rebate in freight charges.

Commodity page : This page provides information on major commodities transported by rail, such as coal, minerals, food grain, cement, and more. These pages offer details on suitable terminals, freight charges, expected transit times, and incentive schemes for each commodity.

Other services: Apart from being thoroughly digital from booking to delivery the FBD Portal also provides a number of other services to freight customers, such as information on various freight incentive schemes provided by Indian Railways, contact details of Nodal Officers, integration with Rail Madad etc. 

Additionally, Indian Railways encourages partnerships with private developers for freight operations. Private companies can invest in private sidings to join the railway network through Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal through FBD portal.