From pillars and arches to information display boards, Coimbatore railway junction has made available space at several points for private advertisers. It also launched on September 3, branding on the engine and coaches of trains and plans to award contracts for private businesses to advertise on its lifts, escalators, footsteps, and passageways.
According to information available with the Salem Division of Railways, Coimbatore junction made ₹ 12.65 crore in revenue in 2021-2022 and till the end of November in the current fiscal through 12 contracts for advertising. This included, ₹ 5.15 crore in advertisements on Mail and Express trains, ₹ 1.73 crore through advertisements inside trains, ₹ 75 lakh in advt on arches, and ₹ 4.88 crore in ‘Out of Home’, i.e on the exterior campus of the station.
The total revenue made by the station in the year that ended on March 31, 2022, was ₹ 28 crore. This year, between April and November, the station registered a 58.3 % increase and touched ₹ 48 crore.
Of this, fare collected from passengers in 2021-2022 was ₹ 16 crore and this fiscal it increased to ₹ 36 crore. “This is because last fiscal, there were COVID-19-induced restrictions and nearly all services were halted,” said a Salem Division official.
