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.
At the upcoming Rail Arcade, some of the proposed facilities include Food & Beverage (F&B), gifts stores, books and magazines, handloom and artifacts, consumer goods kiosks, including pharmaceutical stores.
The concessionaire will be responsible to take over the identified space and undertake the remodeling of the entire area for the development of commercial, leisure, and entertainment space at the railway stations, according to IRSDC.
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