Do You Know About The Luxurious Lounge On Platform 16 At Delhi Railway Station? Here Are The Details
Opened as a part of a pilot project to provide executive lounges on railway stations on the lines of airports, the facility surprisingly sees just 150 passengers a day.
Unknown to many ¡ª but complete with deluxe suites, reclining chairs and buffet meals ¡ª the New Delhi Railway Station houses a waiting lounge that is capable of giving any similar facility at leading airports a run for their money. Believe it or not, the lounge, on platform number 16, has been in existence for nearly six years now. Opened as a part of a pilot project to provide executive lounges on railway stations on the lines of airports, the facility surprisingly sees just 150 passengers a day.
BCCL
The lounge is run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
While the executive lounge model has been recreated at Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam, and will soon be opened at Agra Cantt and Jaipur railway stations too, IRCTC officials admitted that few people knew about the facility at NDLS despite it being the first off the blocks.
BCCL
¡°The average footfall is about 150 a day. This increases to around 350 passengers during the peak season. While a majority of travellers make their bookings online, we have a walk-in option too. Not many people appear to be aware of it,¡± a senior IRCTC official said.
BCCL
For using the lounge for two hours, a passenger needs to pay Rs165. This provides them access to free Wi-Fi and reclining chairs, among other facilities. Passengers can also pay an additional amount to use deluxe suites ¡ª a viable option if a train is running late.
¡°Access to these lounges is controlled by a smart card, which can track how many hours you have been inside. People usually use the suites when they have a train to catch the same day,¡± the official said.
BCCL
IRCTC officials said they planned to make renewed efforts to popularise its executive lounges with 15 more such facilities in the pipeline in 2018-19. ¡°Our focus currently is on the golden triangle of Jaipur, Delhi and Agra, which, we hope, will catch the imagination of people. These stations witness the highest footfall among foreign passengers and tourists,¡± the IRCTC official said.
