As there is news that Western Railway is planning an onboard shopping service inside AC local train on the lines of in-flight shopping in planes, soon Mumbaikars will be able to shop inside a Churchgate-Virar AC local.
According to a report, the Western Railway would appoint salespersons who will go from seat to seat carrying the trolleys on board the AC local and request passengers if they would intend to buy any of the wares they are selling. The main point is that they will not scream or influence passengers to buy any product. The trolleys that will be 3 feet tall and a foot wide will have four salesmen carrying two trolleys each inside the train. Also, these salespersons will be given uniforms and ID cards. The vendors will be allowed to sell cosmetics, health-related products, laptop and mobile accessories, small toys and stationery on MRP.
Apart from this, the WR will also provide various kinds of payment modes for the travelers- like the passengers can buy goods using any mode of payment like debit cards or UPI payment applications like- Google Pay and Paytm.
As per the current scenario, the vendors and hawkers who sell wares and goods right from food items, jewellery inside local trains is illegal. However, this will be the first time that suburban local trains will generate non-fare revenue. Currently, the WR operates only one AC train. Reportedly, four more trains are expected to be brought into service soon.
