The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Will branding get the gravy train going?

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Monday, Jan 12, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Will branding get the gravy train going?

Anil Kumar Sastry

South Western Railway offers 10 popular trains for branding and sole advertisement rights

Highest reserve price has been kept for Sanghamitra Express, Sampark Kranthi Express
It intends to earn at least Rs. 29 crore a year from the scheme

BANGALORE: In an attempt to commercially exploit the names of popular express trains, South Western Railway (SWR) has invited tenders from corporate firms and agencies for branding train name and sole advertising rights on 10 trains operating from Bangalore.

Ad rights

With this, SWR intends to earn at least Rs. 29 crore a year as the branding and advertisement right fee. The brand name will feature along with the train’s name in all announcements, on reservation charts, on destination boards of the train, coach indication slips and during all information dissemination of the train.

Wooing entrepreneurs about the benefits of having their name associated with popular trains, SWR said the move would create a pan-India image for the firm as the brand and train go together.

SWR’s Bangalore Divisional Railway Manager Akhil Agarwal told The Hindu that a similar exercise was earlier made on a holiday special — the Bangalore-Nagarcoil train, which was branded as Kurkure Express. Later the rakes were used for holiday special service to Chennai and to Hubli where the brand name continued. The Bangalore-Hubli holiday special was later converted into a regular passenger train and even people recognise this train as Kurkure Hubli Passenger, said another officer.

Highest price

The highest reserve price is kept for Sanghamitra Express and Sampark Kranthi Express (Rs. 5 crore each) since these trains traverse a long distance (Patna and Delhi respectively); followed by Jodhpur, Gandhidham, Ajmer and Ahmedabad Expresses (Rs. 4 crore); Udyan Express, Hampi Express and Kanyakumari Express (Rs. 3 crore each); Rani Chennamma Express and Lalbagh/Chennai Expresses (Rs. 2 crore each) and Yeshwanthpur-Kannur Express and Bilaspur Express (Rs. 1 crore each).

Mr. Agarwal said the Northern Railway had earlier made a similar attempt wherein it offered advertisement rights on Rajdhani Express rakes. In that case, the licence holder was supposed to provide certain on-board facilities, like cleaning etc and hence the licence fee was less. However, in SWR’s offer no such condition is stipulated as it is a purely advertisement tactic and the licence fee is on a higher side.

He, however, made it clear that the original names associated with these trains would continue to remain as people are emotionally attached to them.

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