Buoyed by the success of its pilot project of branding special trains down south, the Railway Board has decided to chug out the plan on a national scale.
More holiday trains could don advertisers’ colours
KOLKATA: The Kurkure Express seems to have put things on track for the Railways. Buoyed by the success of its pilot project of branding special trains down south to earn some additional revenue, the Railway Board has decided to chug out the plan on a national scale.
Under the pilot project, spearheaded by South Western Railways over the June quarter this year, six companies responded to the limited tender called for advertising on three summer trains - the Nagercoil-Bangalore Express, Bangalore-Hubli Express and Bangalore-Chennai Express. Frito Lay, makers of Kurkure salted snacks and Lays chips, won the bid and these three trains underwent a transformation into Kurkure Express. The snack maker paid Rs 3.5 lakh per train, allowing the railways to make a tidy Rs 10 lakh.
The Railways could quote double that per train in the event of a national rollout. B S Dasarathi, chief public relations officer, South Western Railways, said, “Earlier, the companies were asked to bid a price. But now, a train can command up to Rs 7-8 lakh against the previous Rs 3.5 lakh.”
The Railways are encouraged since an IT company had quoted such prices for the summer trains. Unfortunately, the Railways had to go with the lower bid as the bids had closed by then.
For the next holiday season, therefore, it is very likely that the railroad would be splashed with colours since only short-duration, special trains will be allowed to don the advertiser’s look.
As per the rules, the advertisements can be carried on the coaches, vinyl stickers pasted on the door panels and the advertiser’s products sold for 30 minutes before departure and after arrival.
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