Good news for railway passengers, pod-hotel coming up near Mumbai-Central
In a bid to provide passengers the best lodging comfort, Indian Railways-owned IRCTC is planning to build a pod hotel near Mumbai Central station. Pod hotel is a kind of accommodation that provides extremely small rooms (capsules) equipped with basic necessities. The idea is to provide rail passengers with an option of a comfortable stopover with more amenities than usual retiring rooms in stations.
Pods will be air-conditioned, with television, personal locker, USB ports
IRCTC spokesperson, Pinakin Morawala, told media recently that they are planning to build a 30 pod capsule hotel that will also have a lounge area, cafeteria, changing areas, and washroom. Each pod will be 5 feet by 7 feet, Pinakin said. The capsules will be air-conditioned with temperature and light controls, television, personal locker, power sockets, USB ports, sliding doors, smoke detectors, and Wi-Fi.
Pod to have essential comforts for a 7-8 hours staytime
"The capsule concept will be one-of-a-kind with ultra-modern, smart amenities available to passengers. This construction proposal is part of a wave of innovative ideas to enhance passenger experience," Pinakin said. The spokesperson also said that compared to a pod, a normal hotel room cost much more. Pinakin added that the pod will have essential comforts for a 7-8 hours stay time.
Hotel to be constructed over 4,000sqft, locations identified
Pinakin further said that the proposal is still in nascent stage. IRCTC is waiting for an approval from the Western Railway. The hotel will be constructed over 4,000 square feet and locations have been identified for that. If the pod hotel at Mumbai Central railway station runs successfully, then IRCTC will construct similar hotels near other stations in the city.
Urbanpod, India's first pod-hotel, was built last year in Andheri
Interestingly, Mumbai already has India's first pod or capsule hotel, Urbanpod, which was built last year in Andheri. Started by Shalabh Mittal and Hiren Gandhi, Urbanpod has 140 pods with basic facilities and its sci-fi look will remind you of Interstellar. It has so far received rave reviews with a 4.4 rating on Google, and most people have called it their go-to place.
