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Old 18th November 2021, 09:47   #1
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Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

Located on the first floor of Mumbai Central, the pod hotel has 48 capsule-like rooms. These include classic pods, private pods and "ladies-only" pods and pods for the differently-abled.

A pod hotel, also known as a capsule hotel, has a number of small rooms or "pods" that contain a single bed each. These hotels were first started in Japan to provide cost-friendly yet comfortable accommodation to travellers, and have seen an increase in popularity in India of late. Urbanpod was one of the first boutique pod hotels to open in India.

Each pod room will provide free Wi-Fi, toiletries, a place to keep luggage, and shower rooms and wash rooms in common areas. Inside the pod, the guest can avail facilities like a TV, a small locker, a mirror, an adjustable air conditioner and air filter vents, and reading lights, in addition to interior lighting, mobile charging, smoke detectors, and ‘do not disturb’ indicators

Passengers can book the pod hotel for 12 and 24 hours for ₹ 999 and ₹ 1,999 respectively. A private pod will cost ₹ 1,249 for 12 hours and ₹ 2,499 for 24 hours.

The state-of-the-art pod rooms were inaugurated by Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Patil Danve yesterday.

Source - NDTV
Attached Thumbnails
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Last edited by RM Motorsports : 18th November 2021 at 09:50.
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Old 18th November 2021, 09:55   #2
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

Super cool stuff! Always happy to see investment in the Railways, that's something that touches the majority of people and a good spend for our tax money. Quick, efficient overnight stay options right at stations are a necessity and very useful for transiting passengers. Though 48 is nowhere near enough in a station like Mumbai and maintenance will be key if these rooms are going to continue to be useful for years. Just wondering about the usage patterns though. A lot of travel is with family and for a family of four, booking 2 rooms in a traditional hotel, or one room with extra beds, near the station would be cheaper than 3-4 pods. Will be interesting to see how this goes. Anyway, hoping this is a sign of things to come.

Last edited by am1m : 18th November 2021 at 10:00.
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Old 18th November 2021, 10:05   #3
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

For 2500 rupees I will rather have a regular hotel room, why this cubicle?
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Old 18th November 2021, 10:13   #4
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

Doesn’t seem cost effective. As @Gansan said, it’s easy to find affordable hotel rooms at the price mentioned, so what are we really getting here?

A claustrophobic experience with a shared bathroom/toilet at a high price? Aren’t you better off trying your luck with couchsurfing or affordable hostels?
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Old 18th November 2021, 10:45   #5
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

What works in other South East Asian countries, can be a flop here. In addition to the space constraints, our general cleaning habits can be a biggest challenge. Will be interesting to see how these looks after few months of use. Daily cleaning etc will also be an issue.

Could have been more innovative probably.
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Old 18th November 2021, 10:46   #6
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

^^ For around Rs 800 for non Ac, and Rs 1250 for Ac, regular rooms are available in many railway junctions. I have used the facility in Trichy junction a few times. Even in Mumbai Central they should not cost too much higher, considering they are within the station premises, and no real estate costs involved. Then what is the point in these type of bunk accommodation, unless they are at least 50% cheaper?
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Old 18th November 2021, 11:56   #7
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gansan View Post
For 2500 rupees I will rather have a regular hotel room, why this cubicle?
Good point. But I guess the decent ones for that price are a bit of a walk (~5 mins atleast).

Question to ponder - what's the price of the existing dormitory at the station itself? I'm assuming one of the target segment of this would be those (single) individuals who'd be using the dormitory at the main stations of Bombay for one-off travel requirements. Doubt if many bhpians have tried that in the past, we probably would prefer to look for rooms in that price range nearby.

Another segment is the traveler-in-transition. Mumbai stations sees a lot of these. Not all of them are okay to use the dormitory rooms (full day rooms seem an over-kill solution). In the past (long before pre-covid), I have had travel requirements that require a few hours halt between two different trains. Usually my the modus operandi would be to roam around nearby areas (cafe, etc.) to pass the time. Now I'd just book the 12 hour slot to rest for a hours before my next train. 1000/1200 bucks is not a bad price (although an introductory 599 or 699/- price would have been more 'appealing').

It's a good experiment to start with. How they push/incentivize people waiting it out on station floors/waiting rooms to give it a try will be interesting to wait and watch.
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Old 18th November 2021, 12:51   #8
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

Pardon the recently acquired negativity in me but somehow I see this pod thing going the same way like the Covid Wards that Railways built. While it’s judicious to monetise the huge railway assets but atrocious if the money spent goes down the drain.

During the pandemic, railway coaches were refurbished and made into Covid wards with much fan fare. Huge amount of money was spent in turning the railway coaches into Covid wards and then without any usage at all, were returned back to their original form- again spending almost equal amount of money.

Going by the prices of the pods and the most important part- common washrooms, I see the pods as a little upgrade in terms of amenities from the dormitories that the railway waiting areas anyways provide but a huge upgrade in terms of cost. Of course, one gets little privacy and little comfort features inside the pod but the claustrophobic feeling will also come with it as bonus.

Ideas breed ideas, may be in future, we will certainly get more refined versions of this very idea which has been taken from abroad. As someone said above, what works outside will not necessary work here. Turbanator and ninjatalli said many valid points and I agree with them. Also that cleanliness is a factor that is hardly a strong point here in India, more so in this pandemic era !!

Last edited by ABHI_1512 : 18th November 2021 at 12:54.
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Old 18th November 2021, 14:08   #9
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

Quote:
Originally Posted by ninjatalli View Post
Question to ponder - what's the price of the existing dormitory at the station itself? I'm assuming one of the target segment of this would be those (single) individuals who'd be using the dormitory at the main stations of Bombay for one-off travel requirements. Doubt if many bhpians have tried that in the past, we probably would prefer to look for rooms in that price range nearby.
I've used the retiring rooms for overnight stays at Guwahati, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar, Siliguri, and Dimapur. Near big stations like Mumbai and NDLS you have the option and the transport options to look for better acco. But in the smaller stations/towns, the convenience of staying within station premises is a good one to have. The price is very reasonable, varies from 200-500 a night if I remember correctly. Service levels and cleanliness varies unfortunately. Couple of places have been good, couple not good. That's why I'm a bit excited about this news, I'd happily pay these rates to be able to stay in better acco within the station itself and catch a late night or early morning train. BUT key will be how they maintain the cleanliness and facilities over the years. And again, for a family of 4, a hotel room outside will definitely work out much better.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ABHI_1512 View Post
Pardon the recently acquired negativity in me but somehow I see this pod thing going the same way like the Covid Wards that Railways built.
Yeah, that sentiment is completely justified going by the hit-or-miss maintenance of other railway retiring rooms and government accommodation in general.


Anyway, it's an experiment, hope it takes off, but let's wait and see,

Last edited by am1m : 18th November 2021 at 14:11.
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Old 19th November 2021, 12:56   #10
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

Nice initiative I'd say. Though it appears a little pricey, the convenience it offers, being located within the railway station, offsets the price tag, I guess. It would also be convenient for people who doesn't want to venture into the town or those who are looking for minimising contact during their transit stay.
I remember seeing a similar pod inside the Bangalore airport, though that's much expensive than this.

One thing to consider is that being within the cubicle would not be to the taste buds of everyone. From the looks of it, inside your 'bedroom' you can't even stand up! It is kind of 'crawl into bed and crawl out'.

In the Indian urban scenario, I guess this would be a hit or miss. Let's see how it shapes out in future.
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Old 19th November 2021, 19:08   #11
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

Quote:
Originally Posted by dhanushmenon View Post
It would also be convenient for people who doesn't want to venture into the town or those who are looking for minimising contact during their transit stay.

One thing to consider is that being within the cubicle would not be to the taste buds of everyone.
Just look at photo no.5 of the initial post! It looks like the aisle of an Ac sleeper bus! Minimizing contact? In such a set-up and with common bathroom/toilettes? Precisely for that reason a separate hotel room is preferable. And separate rooms are actually available at a more affordable cost in major railway stations already.
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Old 19th November 2021, 19:44   #12
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

The pods concept works really well in Japan, and I stayed in one during my visit to Osaka (to try it out). They have some great amenities too, like a Japanese bath as well as a relaxation room.
The target audience is:
1) Inter-city traveler, who have business dinners running late (quite a norm in Japan) and would like to take the first train back in morning after a quick shower/ Japanese bath.
2) Students or Party-goers on weekends from nearby cities/towns visiting for work or concerts
3) International budget travelers like me (keep in mind, Japan is a very expensive place)

All that said, few points about the place itself:
1) Japan is insanely clean. The cheapest hostel & hotels are 3 to 4 star cleanliness levels of the best hotels.
2) These are not necessarily at stations, but often spread out in Business district (which often is not far from railway stations themselves)
3) Japan loves vending machines. So you have plethora of options to choose from in food, drinks, personal care products within the pods hotel.
4) The mattress + comforter + aircon works like a charm.
5) Bigger luggage is stored in lockers near reception. Each pod comes with towel + slippers. Shoes need to be removed and kept in locker too (refer to point 1 above)
6) Separate floor for ladies

Personally, I would love to stay in Pods in India or anywhere if the requirements demand it. But as most have alluded to, I am worried about the hygiene levels + comfort on offer. Nonetheless, I hope for their success, and hope we can be collectively conscious as a society to maintain them well.

Some photos for reference (please excuse the the quality as the phone cameras back then weren't the most hi-tech)
Attached Thumbnails
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Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station-527963_10151954679105647_1038845640_n.jpg  

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Old 19th November 2021, 21:25   #13
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re: Swanky pod rooms at Mumbai Central Railway Station

Important part is safety and accessibility. Remember it is not based on hotel check in/out timing. It is not binding but a choice you have.
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