DMRC innovates to make money, brands metro stations

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: In a move to generate more revenue and brand stations, the Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) has completed the first phase of semi-renaming its stations – six as of now.

Those metro stations that have been renamed are MG Road to Syska LED MG Road, Guru Dronacharya to IndiGo Guru Dronacharya, Noida City Centre to Wave City Centre, Noida, Vaishali to Dainik Jagran Vaishali, Noida Sector 18 to Wave Sector 18 Noida and Shivaji Stadium to ONGC Shivaji Stadium.

The second phase is set to follow soon with several stations across the National Capital Region (NCR) being put up for branding.

In the absence of fare hike, the DMRC said the move as the 'need of the hour'.

The next in line stations that have been put up for bids are Sarai, NHPC Chowk, Badkal Mor, Neelam Chowk Ajronda and Mewla Maharajpur of VIOLET LINE; Botanical Garden, Golf Course, Sector 15 and Sector 16 of BLUE LINE; and IFFCO Chowk of YELLOW LINE.

According to sources, the DMRC is said to earn over Rs 2 crore per annum per station under this branding model.

However, it is interesting to note that, according to the DMRC, this type of rebranding or renaming of metros for revenue generation is not permissible in Delhi.

“We can only open bids for metro stations in NCR as Delhi’s policy does not allow DMRC to change names of stations for branding or simply put, revenue generation. But, there is no such restriction in the policies under Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments,” The Hindu quoted an official as saying.