Display boards auction of four Vande Bharat trains earns Rs 7.8 Cr
New Delhi: Jammu Rail Division has earned Rs 7.8 crore over five years after auctioning digital display boards of four Vande Bharat trains, which make eight trips daily between destinations such as Delhi-Katra, Amritsar-Katra, and Katra-Srinagar.
Vande Bharat coaches are fitted with digital display boards to provide passenger-friendly information such as train’s speed, approaching stations, among others.
“A policy was introduced to run commercial advertisements alongside passenger-centric information to make the journey more engaging and generate some non-fare revenues for the railways. The auction of digital display boards of these Vande Bharat trains was done under this policy to improve passenger experience along with revenue generation,” an official from the Northern Railway said.
On September 1, 2025, display boards of the recently introduced Vande Bharat train between Amritsar and Katra – which runs as train number 26405 in ‘Up’ direction and as train number 26406 in ‘Down’ direction – were auctioned for Rs 1.3 crore for five years.
Four months ago, display boards of Delhi-Katra and Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat trains were auctioned to private companies for five years, generating a total revenue of Rs 6.5 crore.
Officials said that the Indian Railways makes all efforts to maximise several ways of generating non-fare revenues which further can be utilised on creating more amenities for passengers at stations and platforms.
“Increasing fare puts financial burden on passengers. So, instead of doing that the Indian Railways has to exploit all other means of making money to meet its huge operational requirements,” an official said.
He added, “Divisional Railway Manager Vivek Kumar and Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Uchit Singhal are making consistent efforts to explore these non-fare ways of making money.”
Singhal said that the non-fare earnings help create a sustainable transport network with modern passenger amenities.
