Country’s first luxury lounge inaugurated at Alld Jnc before Magh Mela

ALLAHABAD, December 31 (HS): Passengers coming to Allahabad for taking a holy dip in the Magh Mela have a reason to cheer. Yes, you have heard it right! Commencing from January 2021, passengers can relax during their waiting period at Allahabad Junction in a state of the art luxury traveler lounge, which was inaugurated on Thursday by General Manager, North Central Railway, Rajiv Choudhary. It is very much like the one we avail at international airports of the country. Being the first modern luxury lounge on any of the railway stations across the country, this lounge is located at the Civil Lines side of the station ready to be used before the commencement of the Magh Mela in January. It is equipped with water recycle and waste management system.
The lounge has been constructed on a PPP (public private partnership) model. A contract in this regard was signed between the divisional railway manager (DRM), Allahabad, Amitabh and CEO of the company concerned Ashutosh Giri way back in 2018.

In this centrally air-conditioner lounge, railway passengers can come, rest and can also have breakfast and food by paying extra money. The facilities will be available to passengers in ‘Fresh rooms luxury lounge’ having separate waterless urinals for male, female and handicapped. The smartphone users can download the app “fresh room” and can deposit some money to be used for toilets and refreshment. “After entering the app, through the password, a QR (quick response) code showing which the passenger can get the access to the lounge”, said Anubhav Asthana, senior officer of the company. Besides, providing free WiFi, the highlight of the luxury lounge is its state of the art toilets which are completely sensor based, automatic seats and remote adjustment to operate with temperature adjustment, shower with hot and cold water are available for the passengers.

For the female passengers, the toilets are having automatic sanitary pad dispenser, sanitary pad incinerator, and separate dustbin for biodegradable items.

The traveller lounge works on pay, use and redeem system. “On paying Rs 10 for using the toilet, a cup of coffee or tea could be redeemed by the passenger. There will also be a train display system for the arrival and departure of the train for the convenience of the passengers”, said public relation officer, Prayagraj division. Besides, there will also be a secure locker facility on an hourly basis and items like tea, coffee, snacks will be available in the waiting room.