Mobile post office

Mobile post offices deliver mail and other postal services through specially equipped vehicles, such as trucks and trains.

The United Kingdom pioneered the modern use of what it calls the Travelling Post Office (TPO), a railway service that operated for the first time in 1838. TPOs were removed from service by Royal Mail in early 2004.

In the UK, road vehicles that provide postal services are known as Mobile Post Offices, to differentiate them from the (now obsolete) rail Travelling Post Offices (TPOs). Mobile Post Offices were first introduced in 1936 to provide telegraph, telephone and postal services at special events such as race meetings and shows. The need for large Mobile Post Offices declined over the years, but since the mid-1990s small van versions have appeared in rural towns without a permanent Post Office.

The French postal service, La Poste carries mail on exclusively mail trains, operating at night, called SNCF TGV La Poste.

In the United States, the most prominent mobile post offices are railway post offices. For about 30 years, ending in the 1920s, a few cities had streetcar offices. In addition, the U.S. runs a Boat Railway Post Offices. The boat services were first available for inland waterways, beginning in 1857, and subsequently ocean routes to Puerto Rico, Canal Zone, and from Seattle to Alaska. The rail and boat offices were discontinued in 1977 and 1978, respectively.

Canada began its railroad mail services in 1859. Both CN Rail and CP Rail used mailcars to haul mail across Canada. With the switch to mail delivery by air or truck, Canada Post no longer delivers mail by rail.

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