Passengers of Delhi-bound Shatabdi trains will now be able to watch their favourite programmes on television free of cost.
According to a plan finalised by the Northern Railway, passengers of select Shatabdi trains will be offered the live TV service as part of an infotainment package without being charged for it.
“As per the plan, an eight-inch LCD TV screen will be installed behind every seat in the Executive Class and Chair Cars in six Shatabdi trains originating from the capital,” said a senior Northern Railway official. The trains being considered for installation of TV sets are Shatabdis running to Amritsar, Kalka, Lucknow, Bhopal, Ajmer and Dehra Dun.
Envisaged on public-private-partnership model, the service providers will install the television sets and provide the manpower to run the system.
“The TV service will be operationalised by the service providers who will be allowed to air advertisements and share a part of the advertisement revenue with the Railways,” said the official.
“The annual payment for service providers will range between Rs.13 lakh and Rs.18 lakh, depending on the number of seats and coaches in the train,” said the official.
