The luxury royal train, Palace on Wheels, has registered nearly 13 per cent rise in income, but had a flat growth of nine per cent in the number of tourists in 2017-18, an official said. A meagre 124 more tourists took the train, from 1,373 in the financial year of 2016-17 to 1,497 last fiscal, said Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) chairman Sanjeev Sharma.

The income from operations rose by around Rs 4.22 crore to Rs 37.44 crore in 2017-18 from Rs 33.22 crore in the year-ago period, a rise of 12.60 per cent, Sharma said. The train was run as Heritage Palace on Wheels this tourism season, RTDC general manager Pradeep Bohra said.

The train rakes were refurbished to give a new look and super-luxury environment, he said, adding that the state hold immense tourism potential for luxury royal trains in the upcoming year.

Source:financialexpress.com

The super luxury train of Maharashtra, the Deccan Odyssey, arrived in Vijayapura on Sunday. It will also halt at Bagalkot on Monday to show enchanting monuments of both the districts to passengers.

The special 21-coach train which covers three States, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, will visit Vijayapura and Bagalkot districts, which are home to some splendid monuments built during the Adil Shahi and Chalukya eras.

This is one of the trains that offer five star facilities on wheels. One could enjoy Jacuzzi, spa, and a variett of cuisines.

The train has all the luxury that one could dream of. This train not only gives the best travelling experience but also takes passengers to various tourist destinations of three States during its sojourn, said Srirang Athale, logistic supplier, in Vijayapura.

Mr. Athale said that the train saves time and energy of the people in booking various modes of transport and hotels during their visit to listed tourists destination.

“Just pay once and all your needs are taken care between Mumbai and Mumbai for eight days,” he said.

He said that the train which operates generally between October and May, carries a maximum of 80 passengers based on booking.

The fair is around Rs. 5 lakh/person for the eight-day tour in which monuments such as Gol Gumbaz, the Badami caves, Aihole, Pattadakal, the Golconda in Hyderabad, the Ajanta-Ellora caves are shown.

Mr. Athale said that though most of the passengers who book are foreigners, some elite Indians also travel by this train for that different experience in life.

He said that States such as Rajasthan and Karnataka have also introduced luxury trains called the Palace on Wheels and the Golden Chariot.

Mr. Athale said that trains such as the Deccan Odyssey have helped in improving tourism industry here and more importantly, made Indian and foreign travellers to know about the ancient monuments of Vijayapura.

Source:http://www.thehindu.com/

At the World Travel Market 2016 in London, the leading event for the global travel industry, euronews spoke to Priyank Kharge, Minister of State IT, BT, and Tourism Karnataka (India), about an outstanding tourist offer his Indian state has to offer: the “Golden Chariot” train.

One of the best-curated tours of Karnataka is the “Golden Chariot”, which is a luxury train. It travels right through the heritage of Karnataka, which is a two thousand years old heritage and then it passes on to Goa. You get a rich tour of history and then one of the best beaches. And the other track goes through the temple town of Tamil Nadu and then comes back to Karnataka. So we not only promote Karnataka but also other states of India through the “Golden Chariot”. So these are the most well curated train tours.

Source:http://www.euronews.com/

If destination weddings are too passe for you, and you have Rs 5.5 crore to spare, get ready for a `travel-to-a-destination' wedding aboard the Maharajas' Express.

Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation is planning to start a Wedding on Wheels package, a week-long extravaganza aboard the luxury train, which will merge both wedding festivities with the experience of traversing through Incredible India. 

Aimed at the uber rich, who want to give their guests a unique taste of India along with all the glitz and glamour of a desi wedding, an officer from IRCTC said, "There will be the best of everything, managed by experts to make it one of the most memorable events for the bride, groom and their families. We are finalising the finer details and will launch these packages on demand.We are hoping it's a huge success." Of course, this weddingcum-tour package comes at a jaw-dropping price. Booking the entire train for 88 passengers for a luxury eight-day wedding package will cost approximately Rs 5.5 crore for the Heritage of India tour, which travels from Mumbai to Delhi through Ajanta, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Jaipur, Ranthambore and Agra. There are other locations covered in other packages like the Indian Panorama tour that starts and ends in the Capital, taking passengers through Jaipur, Agra, Gwalior, Khajuraho, Varanasi and Lucknow.

The train has 24 coaches fitted with 43 guest cabins - 20 deluxe, 18 junior suites, four suites and one presiden tial suite. The general fare per person for the eight-day Heritage of India tour starts at $6,840 (approx Rs 4.5 lakh) and goes up to $23,700 (Rs 15.8 lakh) for the presidential suite.

Apart from hosting weddings, IRCTC is also planning to rope in corporates and Bollywood to make their plan a success. "We are open to the idea of not only hosting grand weddings but also top-of-theline corporate events, movie shoots, fashion events, etc in one of the most luxurious trains of the country," said Pinakin Morawala, spokesperson of IRCTC, west zone.

Sky's the limit in glass-top coaches

Come December, passengers can stare into the skies in the new glass-ceiling coaches being introduced by IRCTC.

These coaches have been jointly designed by IRCTC, Research, Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO), and Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Perambur.

Three such coaches, each costing Rs 4 crore, will roll out from ICF in December this year. The first coach will be tagged in a regular train in the Kashmir Valley while the other two will be part of a train travelling through the picturesque Araku Valley on the SouthEastern Railway, said A K Manocha, chairman and managing director of IRCTC. Which specific trains will have these special coaches has not been decided yet.

The main aim objective behind this project is to promote tourism and woo upscale tourists from both India and abroad, said Manocha, adding, "We believe such coaches would also give a fillip to rail tourism in India." 

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Railway buffs may soon get the opportunity to unwind and enjoy their meals in thematic vintage hotels the public sector behemoth has proposed to construct on original coaches of the ‘Palace on Wheels‘.

According to the proposal by the heritage wing of the railways, the vintage hotels-cum-restaurants would be built in the coaches of the train set amid the ambience of an old station to serve the dual aim of preserving the transporter’s heritage and harnessing its potential to earn revenue.

“We have sent the vintage hotel proposal to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for consideration. Each vintage hotel will have two to three coaches and would cost an estimated Rs 16 crore,” a senior Railway Ministry official said.

Currently the National Rail Museum houses seven of the original nine Palace on Wheels coaches that remind one of the luxury in which the Maharajas of the yore travelled.

These coaches can be refurbished and transformed into vintage hotel-cum-restaurants and placed at suitable locations, the official said. The locations could be a prominent in-bound tourist destination or a place easily accessible by road from a prominent destination point.

The plan envisages such hotels near Rewari Steam Care Centre, which attracts steam locomotive buffs. Such a hotel can also be built away from the hustle and bustle of city life like the Brar Square Station near the Delhi cantonment. Cities like Jaipur with great cultural heritage also could be ideal for such hotels, the official said.

Such vintage hotels can become a favourite getaway for the domestic tourist, he said.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

The Maharajas' Express has spacious cabins, fine food and private performances..................

When we stepped off the train at the small station of Pachora, 250 miles northeast of Mumbai, Lord Ganesha was waiting.

A man costumed as the Hindu god was carried by turbaned attendants and accompanied by folk dancers who whirled to ancient stringed instruments, reedy horns and hand drums. Ganesha sported a pinkish elephant head, complete with trunk and oversize ears, but he blessed us with a very human hand. Locals must have felt like the circus had arrived in town, for despite the early hour, they had come to watch the welcome arranged specially for us.

It was appropriate to be greeted by the god of good fortune: We were a lucky group—passengers taking a 2,000-mile journey from Mumbai to New Delhi on the Maharajas' Express, one of the most luxurious trains in the world. Read More