Rail operator plans pan-India tourist route
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The Business Standard newspaper said approval is expected by the end of this year and the train could be running by October 2008. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation officials said the train would be a luxurious one, air-conditioned, with around 23 coaches and it will target high-end passengers. However, IRCTC officials said the new train would not be on the lines of Palace on Wheels, which caters to a specific region and has a “regal” look.
According to the report, the train would travel throughout the country, covering all the major tourist destinations. The train would cover four circuits: Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Chennai, Chennai-Kolkata and Kolkata-Delhi.
The operator now runs region-specific package tours for tourists. The corporation has to book tickets for passengers in regular trains running on these routes. By running a dedicated train, the state-owned company expects to enhance revenues, the newspaper said.
The proposal comes at a point when IRCTC’s ambitious budget hotel plan has hit a dead-end, the newspaper said. It added that the operator’s discussions with various travel companies for running luxury trains have not yielded any results, even though a year has gone by.
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