Indian Railways Invites Bids To Set Up Rail Arcade At Chandigarh, Bengaluru Stations

The rail arcade to be built at the stations is expected to be a mini-city centre offering food and beverage, entertainment, leisure, as well as retail facilities for passengers.

Indian Railways invited bids for the establishment and maintenance of a ''Rail Arcade'' at the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) railway station of Bengaluru and the Chandigarh railway station for a period of nine years. The aim of the initiative is to offer world-class passenger-centric amenities and enhance the travel experience, according to a statement shared by the national transporter's statutory body Indian Railways Station Development Corporation (IRSDC).  The rail arcade to be built at the stations is expected to be a mini-city centre offering food and beverage, entertainment, leisure, as well as retail facilities for passengers. This is a part of the railway statutory body's overall mandate to undertake the complete facility management of five railway stations across the national transporter's network - including Bengaluru, Pune, Anand Vihar, Chandigarh, and Secunderabad. ''It will enable passengers to utilize their mundane waiting time and turn it into leisure hours, and they will look forward to visiting these stations. As an integrated facility, Rail Arcade will fuel commercial activities and will be a formidable step in transforming railway stations into a RAILOPOLIS- an integrated mini smart city to 'Work, Play and Ride','' said Mr S.K. Lohia, Managing Director, and CEO, IRSDC.