The Central Railway (CR) began offering their Content On Demand (COD) infotainment service on Friday, currently offering free entertainment to passengers travelling on 10 of its local trains.
Over time, the service will be extended to the entire fleet of 165 rakes. The service has been enabled by SugarBox Network as part of CR's non-fare revenue model. At the moment, only 1200 passengers can enjoy the service at any given point in time, while aboard a 12-car local train.
SugarBox Network co-founder Devang Goradia said that only100 people can access the COD on their network inside each coach. However, the average number of commuters travelling inside a 12-car train is around 2700-3000 people. Moreover, there is no way commuters can identify these trains so not everyone will be able to avail of the service at present.
“We will augment the capacity once we see more than 100 people in a single coach trying to access the content using the App,”Goradia said,adding that the App has more than 10,000 hours of COD and the content will be updated from time to time. Meanwhile, CR sources revealed that it will take a year to install these devices in their entire fleet of 165 trains, with an average of 5-6 days to install it in a single coach. Initially, the service will be available on Main Line locals (CSMTKalyan / Karjat / Kasara routes). General Manager (CR) Anil Kumar Lahoti had a first-hand experience of the COD facility.
“The non-fare revenue model earned the CR Rs 22.57 crore from April 2021 to January 2022. This is a 295 per cent rise over the corresponding year. The COD service will fetch Rs 8.17 crore for CR in five years tenure,” he said. To avail of the COD service, passengers will have to download the SugarBox App.
