The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and the Bangalore division of the South Western Railways (SWR) launched an e-bedroll facility and water-vending machines at the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Station (earlier known as City Railway Station) on Monday morning.
The e-bedrolls kits are of two types - one containing two cotton bed sheets and a pillow costing Rs. 140 and the other priced at Rs. 110 containing one blanket alone. Both are packed in a non-woven fabric bag.
“The bed rolls are meant to help those travelling in sleeper class. Passengers can purchase them and take it home too, unlike those provided in air-conditioned compartments,” said Sanjiv Agarwal, SWR’s Divisional Railway Manager.
The facility will be available only at the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Station or trains passing through the station. “Passengers can book it online along with the tickets. They can book it up to five hours before the scheduled departure or purchase it from the e-hub setup at the station,” said an IRCTC official.
The facility will be extended to other stations in Karnataka based on the success of this project.
Apart from this, 10 water vending machines with Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology have also been installed in the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Station.
A total of 66 such equipment will be installed in different stations in Bangalore division. “The containers will be available with the staff near the machine. The passengers can get anywhere between 300 ml to five litres of water priced between Rs. 1 and Rs. 20 respectively without containers and at Rs. 2 and Rs. 25 with containers. One litre of water without container is Rs. 5 and Rs. 8 with a bottle. This is much lesser compared to a one litre water bottle which is priced at Rs. 15,” said Mr. Agarwal.
The passengers can also drop coins of Rs. one and Rs. 5 denominations to get 300 ml and one litre water respectively in their own containers.
