Railways seek young, happening look

Can the 158-year-old Indian Railways be made to look good? That’s adman Suhel Seth’s latest challenge. And here’s how he wants to do it. Starting July, passengers will have an in-house Railways magazine to read on the lines of in-flight magazines given free by airlines, reports Srinand Jha.

Can the 158-year-old Indian Railways be made to look good? That’s adman Suhel Seth’s latest challenge. And here’s how he wants to do it.

Starting July, passengers will have an in-house Railways magazine to read on the lines of in-flight magazines given free by airlines.

In the next stage, Seth said, people can expect Rail Radio and Rail TV.

“We are working at transforming the Railways brand, to make rail journeys more pleasurable,” Seth told HT.

Seth’s brief is not to clean up the bogies or toilets or to ensure the food served is safe and hygienic.

He will only try and make the Railways look good.

The Indian Railways is among the world’s biggest, carrying 1.78 crore passengers a day. And also perhaps the most maligned.

“The editorial planning has been firmed up and the magazine should start publication by July,” Seth said.

The Railways wants to put itself on the world tourism map by linking up with travel websites and, at home, with the Incredible India campaign.

Web marketing plans are also on the anvil. “We plan to sell advertising real estate on the Railways website in coming months,” said an official.

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