Currently, hawking is illegal inside local and long distance trains takes place illegally. However, now the Central Railway’s (CR) Mumbai division has decided to oversee hawking activities within local trains, encompassing both Air Conditioned (AC) trains and long-distance outstation mail and express trains by means of regulation.
Therefore, to implement this plan, an E-Auction is scheduled for November 28. For this, suburban and non-suburban train slots will be auctioned separately, enabling vendors to sell consumable and non-consumable items on trains in exchange for license fees.
This marks the first instance of such licenses being granted to vendors by the CR Mumbai division.
The move aims to facilitate regulated selling by licensed vendors, curbing illicit monetary transactions with hawkers. Additionally, confining travel to licensed hawkers ensures better oversight by the railway authorities.
For long-distance mail and express trains on various routes, a total of 500 licensed vendors will be permitted. However, exclusions apply to premium express services such as Mahanagari Express, Rajdhani, and Duronto. In contrast, the local suburban trains will accommodate 1500 licensed vendors.
Notably, vendor licenses for both express and local trains within the Mumbai division will have a three-year validity.
CR has stipulated that licensees are prohibited from vending consumable items, including packaged drinking water, in long-distance trains, with the exception of suburban trains. Meanwhile, other products such as travel-related items, mobile/laptop accessories, stationery, and newspapers/magazines/books will be allowed for sale in both express and local trains.
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