RailTel to launch content on demand service in trains, railway stations from this month

New Delhi: The much-awaited Content on Demand (CoD) service in trains will be launched this month, a senior official of Railway PSU RailTel said on Thursday. The service involves infotainment in moving trains by providing preloaded multilingual content which will include movies, news, music videos, and general entertainment. To ensure buffer-free services, media servers will be placed inside coaches, RailTel CMD Puneet Chawla said in a press briefing. Passengers will be able to enjoy high-quality buffer-free streaming across personal devices and the content will be periodically refreshed. The service will be rolled out onboard 8,731 trains including 5,723 suburban trains and more than 5,952 Wi-Fi-enabled railway stations. Pilot implementation in a Rajdhani and an AC suburban rake over Western Railway is in the final stage of completion and testing. The revenue share of Railway and RailTel is 50:50 with the PSU expecting an annual revenue of at least Rs 60 crore from the initiative. RailTel has roped in Margo Networks, a subsidiary of Zee Entertainment, to provide the CoD service in trains and railway stations. The project will be implemented in two years and the content will be made available both in paid and unpaid formats for a contract period of 10 years which includes the first two years of implementation. With an aim to generate more non-fare revenue, the Railway Board has entrusted RailTel with providing the CoD service to passengers in trains. “Content on Demand will be available from this month and it will not only improve passenger experience but also increase non-fare revenue through multiple monetisation models,” Chawla said.