Kurkure Express to roll out today from B’lore

Kurkure Express to roll out today from B’lore
Deccan Herald

The Bangalore-Nagercoil Express is soon going to have a new identity - the Kurkure Express. The Kurkure (snacks) manufacturers would be paying around Rs 3.5 lakh to the Railways for running each train.

Next time you board the Nagercoil-bound summer special train, you may find something amusing. The Bangalore-Nagercoil Express is soon going to have a new identity - the Kurkure Express.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav’s dream of having a ‘branded’ train will come to fruition on Thursday in the form of the Kurkure Express running between Bangalore and Nagercoil. The first branded train in the country would be flagged-off by the DRM of the Bangalore Railway division, Mahesh Mangal at 5.30 pm.

Mr Mangal told Deccan Herald, “Altogether, we are operating three branded trains. One is the ‘Kurkure Bangalore-Nagercoil Express’, second is the ‘Kurkure Bangalore-Hubli Express’ and the third one is the ‘Kurkure Bangalore-Chennai Express’.”

The Railway is expected to earn around Rs 10 lakh from these three weekly trains which will run for three months from April to July.

“The Kurkure (snacks) manufacturers would be paying around Rs 3.5 lakh to the Railways for running each train. In addition, the company has been asked to employ three sanitary workers in each train to keep it clean,” the DRM said.

But will passengers have a free supply of Kurkure? Sadly, no! “There is a possibility that on the first day, Kurkure may offer passengers free snacks, though we are not sure. However, on other days, there is no such plan to provide snacks free of cost,” said the DRM.

It is also possible the company’s employees may sell its products during the journey, said Railway officials.

The moot question remains unanswered: What would happen to the petty vendors who earn their livelihood by selling eatables on trains? Will Kurkure permit them to continue their businesses or they will be replaced by the Kurku