Old Western Railway coaches to turn food stalls

Mumbai: The Western Railway (WR) is looking into whether old abandoned coaches can be converted into fancy food stalls to attract customers and generate revenue. The idea came up after WR recommended removal of food stalls in order to reduce rush on platforms during peak hours, but this would also mean that important revenue would be lost.

The railway wants to use its unique selling proposition (USP) – the Mumbai local – to generate some revenue to increase profits which have been in the negative for almost a decade.

An official said, “There is a lot of space outside railway stations which is otherwise used by hawkers with some of it just lying vacant. If we can use this space instead for earning revenue with the additional advantage that we will be utilising coaches which are otherwise sent for scrap after they complete 30 years is a win-win situation.” The railway usually places coaches that are more than 30 years’ old in yards after which a tender is issued to dismantle them and the contractor is paid to dismantle them with the scrap being sold off at market rates.

Another official said, “The idea is to bring in revenue by changing the way we think about the Indian Railway. We want the people to feel that the railway is able to keep up with modern trends.”

The WR has already shown its creative edge by placing a mural of Mahatma Gandhi at the Churchgate station façade and hopes that this out-of-the-box idea will fly with the chairman of the railway board, AshwiniLohani, who is known for having changed the image of Air India.

The WR is currently also working on art characteristic of Mumbai to be placed in the AC train to be launched on January 1 next year.