New Delhi: Mr Uday Chawla, Secretary of the Association of Radio Operators in India (AROI) today described as a very good concept the proposal of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to permit FM radio to provide signals on trains.

However, Chawla said the one-line announcement was not clear on whether it would be thrown open to only All Inda Radio or private FM operators as well.

Chawla told radioandmusic.com that the industry welcomes this as a step in the right direction.

Answering a question, he said there was no technical difficulty in implementing this scheme and therefore, the process should be thrown open at the earliest.

CEO of Radio City 91.1 FM, Abraham Thomas issued an official statement regarding the development - “The announcement of introducing FM Radio at Railway stations is a feather in the cap for the radio industry. It is a pioneering step taken for radio to reach out to a larger audience and garner a high response. About 68% of FM listeners have radio-enabled mobile handsets and consumption of FM during commute is very high. This would be an opportunity for all FM Stations to provide customized entertainment to the travellers.”