RANCHI: Next time you wait at the Ranchi station to catch a train, try out some hot coffee at the new cafeteria on wheels. You can expect something similar at Tatanagar station in a few months time for the Ranchi and Chakradharpur divisions of South Eastern Railways are on course to commission cafeterias on wheels in a bid to fetch non-fare revenues.
Pradeep Kumar Gupta, the divisional railway manager of Ranchi division, on Sunday said, “We are planning to set up cafeterias in obsolete railway coaches. These coaches will be set up at the station complex and will be leased out to private players for overhauling and operations.”
The division is looking to give away one railway coach at present for the project, Gupta added.
Like Ranchi, Chakradhapur division is also planning its own cafeterias on wheels in Tatanagar railway station. “We are in the process of preparing for bidding for any interested private players, hoteliers and entrepreneurs from the hospitality sector who can bid for the operations of the cafeteria on railway coaches. However, the process is lengthy and will take some time,” Manish Pathak, the senior divisional transportation manager-cum-public relations officer, said.
“The objective of this cafeteria will be to offer the passengers and tourists a different kind of ambience along with food as they embark on their journeys,” he added.
The cafeteria on wheels is an up and coming trend of the Indian Railways. In recent months, several key railway stations such as New Delhi, Bilaspur, Asansol and Mumbai have commissioned such cafeterias. Very recently, the Calcutta Tramways Company, the operators of the iconic trams of Kolkata, opened a tram museum-cum-cafeteria. “The cafeterias in the railway stations are drawing good crowds and we decided to work along these lines too,” Gupta said.
Railway sources said it is eyeing to use the ICF-made railway coaches, which are gradually being phased out to make way for the modern LHB coaches.
