Soon, passengers to get an affordable lodging facility at the Mumbai Central railway station as Indian Railways is planning to set up its first pod hotel! By December 2020, two non-air-conditioned waiting rooms, located on the first floor of Mumbai Central railway station are likely to be turned into a pod hotel. The upcoming pod hotel will consist of a building with multiple extremely small and ultra-modern capsules or pods that provide overnight accommodation to passengers.
The pod hotel is expected to be cheaper than the retiring rooms that are currently available, an IRCTC official confirmed. The catering and e-ticketing arm of Indian Railways, Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which will construct as many as 30 pods at the Mumbai Central railway station, floated tenders for the same recently.
According to the official, the tendering process for the construction of pods has commenced and IRCTC is aiming to launch the pod hotel service by the month of December 2020. The pods will be developed within six months after the tender is finalized, he said. The specifications and designs of the capsules will be similar to the pod hotel operational in India, he added. The first pod hotel of India, which is privately-run, opened in Andheri in the year 2017.
It has been reported that the pods will provide accommodation to passengers up to 12 hours. Moreover, the pods will be divided into two types- Classic and Suite. The Classic pods will cater to one passenger and will be equipped with lockers, baggage space and charging sockets. While the suite pods will consist of a large bed for two passengers, WiFi service and personal lockers.
The IRCTC pod hotel will also boast a lounge area, changing areas, washrooms as well as a cafeteria. The national transporter first planned the construction of a pod hotel at Mumbai Central railway station in the year 2018.