CR to upgrade restaurant on wheels at CSMT, develop more at other stations soon

The Central Railway (CR) will be upgrading the new restaurant on wheels proposed at other stations, based on the feedback that they have received since the program was started nearly 45 days ago. Apart from adding another coach the CR will also provide an experience of open dining around green spaces. At present the average footfall of patrons at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) is 300-500 per day.

According to CR officials, they are planning the next restaurant-on-wheels called 'Bogie Wogie' at Kurla Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. To make this a success, they are adhering to suggestions and responses that they received for the one at CSMT. Authorities say the response from the current restaurant on wheels has been good.

The average number of patrons visiting CSMT restaurant on weekdays is around 250-300 while on the weekends it’s approximately 450-500. There have been queues outside the restaurant on multiple occasions. We are planning to introduce additional coaches and beautify the area around to accommodate more visitors at railway stations, where space is available. An additional coach will allow them to serve 80 patrons instead of 40 at present.

“We are looking at making upgrades in the next restaurant on wheels proposed at other stations. These include having two coaches instead of one, beautifying the open area outside and creating seating arrangement are some of the things in the offing,” said a CR official.

A bigger restaurant on wheels with additional railway coaches and beautified space for the visitors will offer better experience to patrons. This development is expected to come in by 2022. Moreover, officials from CR claim that they are also working on the need for elaborate dishes on offer and cut down on the menu as the kitchen inside the coach restaurant is smaller in size.

The CR has a plan to open similar restaurants at Kalyan, Borivali, Igatpuri, Lonavala, Nagpur, Miraj, Chinchwad, Baramati and Akurdi stations in Maharashtra.

The present restaurant on wheels has 10 tables, with the interiors painted in line with the suburban railway theme. Within a fortnight after the launch, the facility saw nearly 10,000 visitors. The city’s first restaurant on wheels opened for visitors on October 18 at CSMT and is operational 24/7. The railway is set to earn Rs 42 lakh per year from the restaurant at CSMT.