Yatri app launches real-time chat feature for Mumbai local train commuters

Yatri Chat helps train commuters stay informed while travelling. Pics/By Special Arrangement

Yatri, the official Mumbai local app for Indian Railways, has alerts and announcement information shared in-app. On Monday, the app announced the launch of a real time in-app chat feature called Yatri Chat. This is a feature to help Mumbai's 80 lakh local train commuters stay informed and connected throughout their journey. The new chat feature involves dedicated community groups for each of Mumbai's major rail corridors: viz, Western Line, Central Line, Harbour Line, and Trans-Harbour line.

Yatri Chat helps passengers share updates, exchange stories and stay informed during their local quotidian commutes. With the new reply feature, users can now engage in real-time, two-way conversations, asking questions, responding, and sharing on-ground updates instantly. Chats are organised by train lines, ensuring conversations stay relevant to commuters.

Reeva Sakaria, co-founder, Yatri

"Mumbai's local trains are more than just a way to get from A to B. They are where stories are exchanged, friendships are forged, and everyday journeys turn into shared experiences," said Reeva Sakaria, co-founder, Yatri. "With Yatri Chat, that community spirit now finds a new home online. We are bringing train conversations into the digital space, turning 80 lakh daily commuters into a connected community." When asked how this will be different from a WhatsApp group for commuters, she said, "Usually, one will have a cap on the number of members when it is a WhatsApp group. This feature, Yatri Chat will also see chats be line specific, like the Western Line, Central Line, Harbour Line and Trans-Harbour Line, so that the chat stays specific and relevant to the commuter. We launched Yatri in 2021, with the commuter community taking to it immediately. With this newly opened feature interface, we too are monitoring the interactions, seeing if any kind of changes are needed."

The concept of ‘train friends' or ‘my train group' is a facet of city life that is usually understood only by those in Mumbai. Now an app with an in-house feature like this digitalises this train group experience, formalises it in some way and is a primary resource for specific, local train information. A pleasant offshoot may be finding more train friends too.