Rlys for train, station branding in bid to boost ad revenue

NEW DELHI: There’s a lot in the name, as far as the Indian Railways is concerned. The cash-strapped transporter plans to allow branding of premier trains and stations

NEW DELHI: There’s a lot in the name, as far as the Indian Railways is concerned. The cash-strapped transporter plans to allow branding of premier trains and stations in its bid to revamp advertising revenue.

HT Image

If the move goes through, then commuters would perhaps be able to catch a PayTM August Kranti from the Google Nizamuddin station.

Abandoning the “incremental approach” that has governed the transporter’s ad revenue generation efforts in past decades, the Railways has finalised a “transformative” plan to multiply earnings in the area from the current annual earning of Rs 280 crore to Rs 2,000 crore within two years.

Instead of the earlier practice of awarding ad rights on a piece-meal basis, the Railways will shortly grant consolidated media rights at premier stations and trains. “The new tenders will include combined media rights including options of station and train branding and use of all other territories including the circulating area. These contracts will be awarded for 10 years,” officials said.

In a first, the Railways has awarded a pilot project on four trains to the firm ‘Media on Track’, which had earlier done a successful trial run of the “Kurkure Express”. “The Railways can expect to generate revenue of Rs 120 crore from the pilot alone,” said firm’s director Rajiv Mittal.