Minister revives Wheeler’s historic ties with railways

NEW DELHI: Booksellers A H Wheeler, which has been a part of railway history in the country, is back in business. The chain of book stores, which had 500 outlets and spread across 258 railway stations in north and central India was discontinued from October 2004 by the then railway minister Lalu Prasad during the UPA-I regime.
But, railway minister Dinesh Trivedi has decided the booksellers , who were an integral part of the rail heritage, will be back on the platforms with renewed energy and modernized ways, to the delight of long-distance train travellers.“After being treated so shabbily for years now, we are delighted to have met the railway minister on Friday,” said Amit Banerjee, director of A H Wheeler and Co. The company, which was started in 1877 by French author Emile Moreau and Indian businessman T K Banerjee in Allahabad, had published Rudyard Kipling for the first time in 1888. The name was borrowed from a successful London book store Arther Henry Wheeler’s.
Now, the plan is to modernize the stalls and also go e-commerce with Amazon or Flipkart, Banerjee said.