Bengaluru railway division onboards Rapido, Namma Yatri to set up booking kiosks at stations

Rapido’s booking kiosk is nearing completion at KSR Bengaluru City station.

The Bengaluru division of the South Western Railways has onboarded Rapido and Namma Yatri to set up booking kiosks at major stations that will offer cab and auto-rickshaw services.

Officials told Moneycontrol that the two firms will pay a combined annual fee of Rs 53 lakh to the division for operating kiosks at six railway stations.

Rapido will set up two air-conditioned waiting area-cum-booking kiosks each at KSR Bengaluru City and Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal in Byappanahalli. It will also have kiosks at Yeswantpur and Hoodi stations. Namma Yatri will establish kiosks at Krishnarajapuram and Whitefield.

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"Both Rapido and Namma Yatri will deploy cabs and auto-rickshaws at these stations. Each kiosk will have at least five cars. The design of the kiosks will be left to the firms. They participated in the bid, and we plan to extend this to other stations,” said Krishna Chaitanya, senior divisional commercial manager (Bengaluru division), SWR.

In 2017, Ola and Uber signed an agreement with Bengaluru division to operate at 12 railway stations but those kiosks are not functional anymore. Ola and Uber did not participate in the latest round of bids.

Also read: Ola, Uber not to expand kiosks and parking slots at railway stations

Bids for Jnanabharathi, Yelahanka, Malleshwaram and Nayandahalli stations would be floated on December 5, officials said. “This is a win-win situation for all. Passengers get access to cabs and auto-rickshaws, firms can set up kiosks and promote their branding, and we get a steady revenue stream,” Chaitanya said.

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Branded outlets at stations

The Bengaluru railway division is also in talks with catering services providers such as Rameshwaram Cafe, Adyar Ananda Bhavan (A2B), MTR and CTR, as well as global chains like KFC and McDonald’s, to set up outlets at railway stations. “The rail coach restaurant at the entrance of KSR Bengaluru railway station run by ‘Haldiram Express’ is very popular now. We are planning to set up one more rail coach restaurant at the third entry of the station,” Chaitanya said.

He added talks are on with popular catering chains to set up branded outlets at stations. “This will provide more options for passengers visiting our stations,” he said.

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KSDL outlet at KSR Bengaluru City

Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KSDL) will set up a Mysore Sandal Soap outlet at KSR Bengaluru City station, offering a range of its branded products. “Work on the outlet has been completed, and it will be opened in a couple of weeks,” he said.

Battery swapping stations

The Bengaluru division has already awarded a contract to Indofast Energy, a joint venture between Indian Oil and Sun Mobility, to set up battery-swapping stations at KSR Bengaluru City, Yelahanka and Banaswadi stations. “We are looking at more avenues to increase non-fare box revenue,” he added.