0 Trains from (PDMA)Padma to (HZD)HAZARIBAGH RD

WESTERN RAILWAY GARNERS REVENUE OF RS. 1.64 CR

FROM FILM SHOOTING

 Highest ever revenue earned by Western Railway in any financial year

Photo Caption: Views of film shooting at various locations over Western Railway

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Right from its grand, heritage headquarters in Churchgate to its clean, scenic stations, Western Railway is full of potential shoot locations that are convenient and best suited options for filmmakers.

According to a press release issued by Shri Sumit Thakur – Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, during the financial year 2022-23 more than 20 film shootings were held at different locations across Western Railway, which included feature films, web series, TV commercial advertisements, documentary films of social awareness, TV serials, etc.

In this financial year, Western Railway has earned over Rs. 1.64 crore (One crore & Sixty four Lakh) by offering its various premises and rail coaches for film shootings. In the last financial year 2021-22, WR earned Rs 67 lakh, while in the year 2019 - 20 it was o­ne crore and during 2018 – 19, it was more than Rs. 1.31 crore. While there was an understandable dip in 2020-2021 due to the pandemic, the surge of film and commercials shot in 2022 indicates that the railways will never lose its charm.

Over the years, Western Railway has been part of several iconic and blockbuster movies like Lunch Box, Hero Panti 2, Gabbar is Back, Airlift, Padman, Ra.One, Phantom, Ek Villain Returns, Yeh Jawani He Deewani, Radhe, Laxmi Bomb Kai Poche, Atma, Ghayal Return, Kaminey, Heropanti, Holiday, Thupaki (Tamil movie), D-Day,  Shershah, Bell Bottom, OMG 2 including Gujarati Films Kutchh Express and Locha Lapsi, Marathi film Aapdi Thapdi. Many Web series such as X-Ray, Abhay 2, Breath into the Shadows, Dongri to Dubai, etc. and KBC promo were also shot in WR locations.

Some of the locations that are now etched in the minds of cinema lovers are Mumbai Central Terminus station, Churchgate Headquarter and station building, Sabarmati Sports Ground, Goregaon station, Jogeshwari AT (Yard), Lower Parel Workshop, Kandivali & Virar Carsheds, Kelve Road, Pardi Rly station, Kalakund Rly station, Patalpaani Rly station, the running train between Mumbai Central and Valsad, and the EMU train shoot at Goregaon.

Mumbai Central Station provides a wide array of facilities conducive to film shootings. This station with long platforms catering to Mail / Express trains is a perfect location to shoot scenes pertaining to train travel. This station has the added advantage of shooting during Night hours. It also has adequate parking facility for parking of all Shooting Vehicles. The shooting of many popular films like Body Guard,Phata Poster Nikla Hero, o­nce upon a time in Mumbai , Jazba,Yeh Jawani He Diwani, Holiday, Tamil Film ’Thupaki’ and several ad films have been shot at Mumbai Central station.

Western Railway’s Goregaon station has the facility to shoot with local trains as well as with Mail Express train. The long platform at this station is advantageous to create the set as per the need & demand of the scene. This station also enables shoot during Night hours giving much flexibility of timings.

Jogeshwari Yard (AT) is also a convenient location for film shooting. The main USP of this location is the possibility to shoot with Goods train alongwith Mail/ Express trains.

Another popular location over WR is the administrative building above Churchgate station. Films like Airlift, Gabbar is Back, Phantom, Lunchbox, D-Day, etc. were shot here. This location provides with a readymade set of a government office set-up.

Shri Sumit Thakur, Chief Public Relations Officer Western Railway stated that the initiative to grant permission to the production houses without any hassles has enabled Western Railway to earn record revenue from film shoots. A single window system has been introduced. This process simplification has enabled film and TV companies to obtain permission after submission of the necessary documents as per Public Relations Manual. Thus Western Railway is an extremely popular movie destination for various film industries, Television serials, Ads and OTT platforms too. With the easing of film-shooting permissions, Western Railway has emerged as o­ne of the favourites among those who weave celluloid dreams.

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Travel by WR local trains made easy…

WR LAUNCHES TRACKING OF LOCAL TRAINS o­n ‘YATRI APP’ FOR PASSENGERS TRAVELING OVER MUMBAI SUBURBAN SECTION

Photo caption: Shri Ashok Kumar Misra – General Manager of Western Railway launched the WR live location o­n ‘Yatri’ app at Churchgate Station.

Shri Ashok Kumar Misra – General Manager of Western Railway launched the WR line o­n‘Yatri’app at Churchgate Station Concourse o­n 5^th April, 2023. ‘Yatri’ app is a live-tracking application for Mumbaikars to track their local trains for daily commuting. This app is the official Mumbai local app made in collaboration with M/s CDP India Pvt. Ltd. for local passengers to use the live-tracking feature for WR Mumbai Suburban trains o­n the app. The app was launched in the presence of Shri Prakash Butani – Additional General Manager of WR, Shri Pravin Chandra Parmar – Principal Chief Commercial Manager, Shri Niraj Verma – Divisional Railway Manager of Mumbai Division, & Dronacharya Awardee Shri Dinesh Jawahar Lad, Cricket Coach and Padma Shri & Arjuna Award Ms. Diana Edulji, Former Indian Test Cricketer.

According to a press release issued by Shri Sumit Thakur – Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, GM WR Shri Misra in his address said that the app will be of utmost use for Mumbaikars traveling by WR’s Mumbai Suburban trains. In the age of GPS enabled devices everywhere, this app will assist passengers to see the location of the trains easily. He emphasized that the GPS live tracking will be of great use to passengers as they can plan their journey in a better way. Western Railway has installed GPS tracking devices in all its EMU rakes which will enable the app to provide real-time location of the local trains. Commuters will get authentic information regarding Train Live Updates & Announcements, Latest Timetable, Maps of major railway station & its amenities. The app also provides additional information such as o­n Mumbai Metro, Buses, etc. There is a section wherein the users can give their feedback.

Shri Thakur stated that commuters will not o­nly be able to get the train’s live location o­n map, but also see it moving in action. In just 3 simple steps, commuters can view the live location. Commuters can find the nearest stations directly o­n the map, type the source station and track the local train of their choice, so they can gauge how close or far they are from the train to plan their journey. App users can also mark their favourite trains and route to give custom notifications. The geo-location of commuters will guide them to the nearest station and nearby points of interest. The ‘Yatri’ app also provides maps of the station alongwith amenities to help passengers navigate easily. Passengers also have easy access to railway and medical emergency contacts numbers. Tourists can also explore nearby tourist destinations and places to visit near the stations.

Shri Thakur further added that the app is Divyangjan-friendly as well. Divyang commuters who operate the phone via voice commands, can easily find their train’s live location by asking it through Google Assistant. They have to speak the command “Ok Google, Talk to Yatri Railways” and say the train number. Google Assistant would fetch the live location of that train via the Yatri App and speak out loud to the users.

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