No more 'Kurkure Express' experiment: Railway Ministry

New Delhi, June 28 (UNI) The Railway Ministry today said no long-distance trains would now be named after the product of a company, saying such a measure was necessary to remove confusion among the travelling passengers.

Mr V N Mathur, Member Traffic, Railway Board, said during the summer vacation this year, a Summer Special train from Bangalore was named after the product of a multinantional company.

''This was done on an experimental basis. The train, which operated only during the summer vacation, brought some money for the Railways but also caused confusion among the travelling passengers,'' he said.

Mr Mathur said the Railways had taken a conscious decision to dispense with the experiment and no long-distance train would now be named after any product.

He said people would be more comfortable with the existing names of regular trains. ''If a train is named as Pushkar Express, it can easily be understood that the train is bound for Ajmer. Similarly, the Prayagraj Express is linked with Allahabad,'' he pointed out.

If these trains were to be named after a product, it would create massive confusion among the passengers, he reasoned out.

During this year's summer vacation, South Central Railway had introduced a train named as 'Kurkure Express', which was named after a popular snack produced by multinational company PepsiCo.

The Railways did earn Rs six lakh from the experiment, but PepsiCo advertised its product for a niggardly amount, which othrwise would have cost the company a huge amount.

There were reports that the Railway Ministry was planning to name regular trains after various products to bolster its revenues.

UNI