The Indian Railways has launched a new way of earning revenues under the leadership of Union Minister Piyush Goyal. The Minister for Railways announced in a tweet that a special train will travel from Mumbai to Delhi on 16th-17th October to promote the movie Housefull 4. He also urged more filmmakers to use the service to reach out to more audiences.
https://twitter.com/PiyushGoyal/status/1184425052407844864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Under the scheme ‘Promotion on Wheels’, special trains will be made available for booking for the promotion of art, culture, cinema, television, sports and others. The Akshay Kumar starrer Housefull 4 is the first movie to be promoted under this scheme. The train will carry celebrities and media persons and travel through several important districts. It will have eight coaches.
“Under this initiative, the railways has approached many major production houses with upcoming films to use these FTR (Full Tariff Rates) trains to facilitate pan-India publicity and promotions of films across the length and breadth of the country. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) shall be the nodal agency for handling such trains,” the Western Railway said in a press release.
https://twitter.com/WesternRly/status/1184154366594310145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Here are some of the interesting artwork on the train that promotes Housefull 4:
Earlier, Shahrukh Khan had also undertaken promotional activity using the Railways, however, it had led to a commotion. This time, the promotion seems far more official and organised.
Read: SRK booked for vandalism, it was ‘gareeb’ vendor’s complaint against ‘Raees’ superstar
Piyush Goyal also announced that loudspeakers along railway tracks between Haridwar and Dehradun will play the buzzing sound of bees to dissuade elephants from venturing into the tracks thus endangering their safety.
It is also being speculated for some time that the long-delayed Vistadome trains will finally run in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. If it does to come to pass, it will be another feather in the cap for Piyush Goyal during his service as the Union Minister for Railways.
Earlier, trains have carried advertisements to generate revenue for Railways, however, this is the first time an elaborate movie promotion has taken place.