Central Railway will introduce grocery kiosks at stations across its Mumbai, Pune, Solapur, Bhusawal and Nagpur divisions, allowing passengers to buy daily-use essentials, packaged food and personal care products without leaving railway premises. Cooked food, tea and coffee will not be permitted at the kiosks.
The railway has standardised the list of products that vendors can sell, as well as items that will be prohibited. The move is intended to create a uniform vending system across stations and prevent unauthorised sales. Central Railway officials said the initiative will also improve passenger convenience and generate additional revenue through commercial facilities under the railway’s Non-Fare Revenue scheme.
The programme was first tested in the Nagpur division, where kiosks were installed at Chandrapur and Pandhurna stations around a year ago. Following the experimental rollout, Central Railway has awarded contracts for grocery kiosks at stations and railway premises across its five divisions.
The permitted product list includes rice, wheat, flour, pulses, edible oils, sugar, salt, spices and dry fruits. Passengers will also be able to buy packaged drinking water, juices, soft drinks, biscuits, chips, instant noodles, ready-to-eat food, sauces, jams and pickles. Dairy products, bakery items and selected frozen snacks will also be allowed.
Personal care and hygiene products such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste, detergent, tissues and sanitary napkins will be sold at the kiosks. Baby care products, pet food, stationery and small utility items are among the other permitted goods. The product range is designed around everyday requirements rather than cooked meals or beverage service, which will remain outside the scope of the facility.
Vendors will have to comply with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India rules wherever applicable and maintain cleanliness inside and around their stalls. An official said dustbins with garbage bags must be placed within one metre of each kiosk. The requirement links the commercial rollout to the railway’s Special Cleanliness Campaign 6.0 and places responsibility on kiosk operators for managing waste around their facilities.
Nagpur railway station is expected to receive a similar kiosk after its ongoing redevelopment work is completed. Aman Mittal, senior divisional commercial manager of Central Railway’s Nagpur division, said the railway would also conduct an auction for the Nagpur station facility and may consider a kiosk at Ajni station.
The contracts are being issued as part of Central Railway’s effort to expand non-fare revenue while adding services for passengers within station premises. The railway has not indicated a single launch date for all five divisions in the supplied announcement. The next milestones are the station-wise auctions, completion of the Nagpur station redevelopment work and the operational rollout of the awarded kiosk contracts.
