Railways rents out display space at Ernakulam Junction station

KOCHI: The Southern Railway is on the roll and is coming up with new initiatives to increase its non-fare revenue. After the Thiruvananthapuram division’s decision to rent out heritage railway stations for the conduct of events like destination weddings, theme-based conferences and other cultural activities, a new initiative to rent out platform space was launched on Tuesday. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative under the division.

According to Nithin Nobert, Ernakulam area manager, this is the first time such a display space has been arranged for products on a railway platform.

“Any product can be put on display at the space,” he said. Since railway stations are places which see the convergence of passengers from all over the country, it is the right place to advertise a product through the live display, he added. “The space on the platform is available for a stipulated amount as rent. It is Rs 12,000 for four-wheelers and Rs 7,000 for two-wheelers for a day. However, it is not as if only vehicles can be displayed. The facility is available for the display of other products too,” said Nithin.  According to him, as of now, only one company has approached them.

“We expect more companies to make use of the facility which will be made available at all major railway stations under the division,” said Nithin.

The Railways has been experimenting with various initiatives for the past two years to increase its non-fare revenue. With Union Minister for Railways Piyush Goyal claiming the Railways is functioning at a loss of Rs 55,000 crore, newer ways are being looked into for increase the revenue.