To bring in experienced teams from the hospitality industry, the Southern Railway has decided to outsource to redevelop, operate, and maintain retiring rooms with sleeping pods at Chennai MGR Central railway station. This is the first time the SR is planning to do it with private participation at Chennai Central.
The SR has announced a new redevelopment initiative under the ROMT (Redevelop, Operate, Maintain and Transfer) model, inviting private participation through the Indian Railway E-Procurement System (IREPS) portal.
“Though we’re charging passengers now, we believe passengers deserve better. So we decided to bring in people experienced in hospitality. After Central station, we may try it out in Tambaram as well. At present, there are sleeping pods in the executive lounge. But we want to include them in other retiring rooms to serve passengers better.”A senior railway official
Branded as a ‘Great chance to collaborate with Southern Railway’, the project aims to enhance travel comfort and passenger amenities while creating strong business and partnership opportunities. According to the project overview shared, the initiative emphasises high footfall utilisation, public-private partnership potential, and an expanded hospitality presence within railway premises.
The SR highlighted that the project was designed to strengthen infrastructure through private investment while ensuring long-term operational efficiency and maintenance standards. The bid submission date for the project is January 23.
Officials stated that the initiative represents a step toward modernising railway facilities while unlocking commercial potential aligned with passenger-centric development goals.