Anubhuti coaches providing higher comfort to passengers

NEW DELHI: Chandigarh Shatabdi will be the first train to have "Anubhuti" coaches, the special AC luxury class proposed in this year's rail budget, providing higher travel comfort to passengers. 

Railways will roll out 10 state-of-the-art AC coaches from Rae Bareli coach factory by October. 

"We will be beginning the Anubhuti trial with Chandigarh Shatabdi to be followed with Jaipur Shatabdi. Later on, all Shatabdi trains will be equipped with one Anubhuti coach in a phase-wise manner," said a senior Railway Ministry official. 

Anubhuti, the first of its kind modern LHB coach with ergonomically designed cushioned seats, LCD screens, modular toilets and world class interiors is estimated to cost about Rs 2.80 crore. Currently, it costs about Rs 2.5 crore for manufacturing a LHB coach. 

He said similarly one Rajdhani train will be selected for introduction of Anubhuti coach to be followed by all other 23 Rajdhani services. Mail and express trains will also be equipped with Anubhuti coaches in a gradual manner. 

While AC 1 Executive Class has 56 seats in Shatabdi, new design Anubhuti with automatic opening and closing of internal doors will have about 50 seats only. 

Asked about the fare for travelling in Anubhuti class, he said "the fare will be more than the AC 1 Class in Shatabdi train" and added "the aim is to provide an excellent ambience and latest modern facilities and services with commensurate fare structure." 

Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, who had proposed the Anubhuti coach in his maiden Rail Budget, visited the Coach Care Centre at the New Delhi Railway Station to inspect the proto type of special coach recently. 

Besides special coaches, Railways will also manufacture 4,500 HP diesel locomotive fitted with compact AC unit in loco pilots' cabin. 

The first-ever locomotive fitted with AC in driver's cabin is estimated to cost Rs 12 crore and aims to provide relief to loco pilots on duty. Railways have proposed to create such improved cabins in all the locos in a phased manner.

Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Golden Chariot Train

Golden Chariot, the luxury train run by Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC), in collaboration with Indian railways is all set to include Andhra Pradesh in its itinerary.

According to a KSTDC source, “Hyderabad was keen to be included in the Golden Chariot itinerary. So KSTDC why not? By entering Andhra Pradesh, the luxury train will now complete the entire Southern Triangle touching all the four southern states - Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.”

The project will however take two years to implement as it has to be done without disturbing the existing routes and railway tracks will also have to be laid.

The Golden Chariot, named after the famous Stone Chariot at Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka presently has two routes charted out. The Pride of the South itinerary over 8 days/7 nights begins every Monday from Bengaluru and traverses through Mysore, visiting Srirangapatna, Mysore Palace, the Nagarhole National Park (Kabini) and continuing to the historical sites of Shravanabelagola, Belur - the 11th century cradle of Hoysala architecture and a World Heritage Site, Halebid, Hampi and thereafter entering into the triangular heritage site of Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole, and finally the beaches of Goa before ending in Bengaluru.

The second route, Southern Splendour of 7 nights/8 days covers Bengaluru - Chennai - Puducherry - Tanjavur - Madurai -Thiruvananthpuram - Kanyakumari - Kovalam - Alleppey and Kochi.

Source- http://travel.financialexpress.com/sections/market-section/1220-golden-chariot-set-to-include-andhra-pradesh-in-itinerary

Palace on Wheels Train

India’s first luxury tourist train, running for more than 30 years, Palace on Wheels will soon enter into refurbishing and maintenance mode for the upcoming run season. But there is a good news for the connoisseurs of luxury train travel. The April departures of this Indian luxury train will have a 25% rebate on the total ticket price. The four departure dates in the month of April are as follows- 3rd April, 10th April, 17th April and 24th April. The departure schedule is given on the website of the Indian luxury trains. 

Launched on 26th January, 1982, Palace on Wheels was  designed to introduce the art of luxury train traveling in India. When launched, the train was composed of the original rail carriages of the erstwhile Indian monarchs and were later replaced with the replica carriages to accommodate the technological advancement. The 14 guest carriages of this luxury tourist train display a marvelous intermingle of traditional décor and state  of the art amenities and can play host to 88 people in all. 

The 8 days and 7 night  journey offered by the Palace on Wheels train traverses the course of erstwhile princely  states in Rajasthan along with a halt in Agra. The destinations of Rajasthan covered by this train include Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bharatpur. The weeklong journey offers a dash of forts, palaces, sand dunes and fairs and festivals. Guided off train excursions are provided at each destination where the train halts.

Source - http://www.travpr.com/pr-22227-palace-on-wheels-25-discount.html

India’s 65,000 kilometers of train tracks embroider the subcontinent, connecting thousands of cities. In 2010, Monisha Rajesh, a London-based journalist, set out to discover the railways, detailing her adventures in her new book, “Around India in 80 Trains.”

The state-run railways and private luxury lines give full view of the country’s people as well as its sights, Ms. Rajesh said. “You could be in first class with ambassadors and politicians in these air-conditioned compartments” she said. “Go down to the other end, you’ll find people sitting on wooden slats.”

“No one is excluded,” she added. “For every price, anyone can travel.”

Below are edited excerpts from a conversation with Ms. Rajesh on how to navigate India’s railways.

Q. India is enormous. How do you start planning an itinerary?

A. Before you go, buy an Indrail Pass, which is available only for foreign tourists, at a travel agency. Indian Railways, the state-owned network, has so much ticketing bureaucracy. You can avoid it with the pass, which allows for unlimited travel for up to 90 days. All you have to do is make reservations for the seat at the station. It’s worth the investment: at the time, I paid $530 for 90 days.

The official Web site of Indian Railways is awkward. For figuring out your itinerary, I recommend ClearTrip.com and IndiaRailInfo.com, which lists every single train that goes to your destination, all the prices, all the classes, how long they take. Let’s say you want to go from Delhi to Jaipur, you could take a four-hour journey for about $10 on one of the day trains like the Shatabdi Express or the Duronto Express — they’re fast, no nonsense, clean. Or you could take a train that costs 50 cents, but it’s nine hours in an uncomfortable compartment.

Q. Any particular itineraries you recommend?

A. Many tourists do the Golden Triangle in Rajasthan — Delhi, Agra, where the Taj Mahal is, and Jaipur — and the private luxury trains are good for exploring that. I took the Indian Maharaja-Deccan Odyssey from Mumbai to Delhi and saw the Maharajah palaces, a tiger sanctuary, the Ellora and Ajanta caves. There’s also the Maharajas’ Express, a new premium luxury train, with Swarovski crystals and such.

And in the south, I took the Golden Chariot in Karnataka from Mysore to Vasco da Gama. Goes through lesser-known areas and palaces, but no less impressive. These trains are expensive, but I’ve never seen anything quite so fabulous. Really strange to sit on an exercise bike in a gym, in a train, and it’s all moving past you.

Q. Any favorite routes of the public train system?

A. I loved the one through Bangalore and Mangalore called the Green Route because it’s so lush, especially post-monsoon season. The Konkan Railway from Mumbai to Goa has the Arabian Sea on one side, the Sahyadri Mountains on the other. It goes quite slowly, so everyone gathers in the vestibule, the doors always open. The train squeezes through mango groves, tiny villages; you can look to someone’s house, smell what they’re cooking.

Q. Any advice for female travelers?

A. I recommend asking for the upper berth, the top level in a sleeper compartment. You’re out of reach of wandering hands, and it’s good if you like napping during the day.

I traveled mostly with a male photographer but I did go off on my own for a month, and I was absolutely fine. As soon as they found out I was alone, families would invite me into their compartments. People are very welcoming to tourists. That’s the nice thing about trains: you’re with these people for an hour, two, maybe 24, and you come away with all of this local knowledge.

By Emily Brennan, The New York Times 
© 2013, The New York Times News Service

The next journey of the Deccan Odyssey, a luxurious and expensive five-star train, will offer commuters a 25% discount. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has offered the sop to attract rich Indian travellers.

The train will leave Mumbai on January 30 and return on February 6. It will take passengers to the pristine beaches of Sindhudurg and Goa, apart from historical marvels in Aurangabad (Ellora), Jalgaon ( Ajanta) and forests in Kolhapur and Nashik as well. 

The train is popular among foreigners, especially Germans and the French.

According to an estimate by tourism corporation officials, Indian travellers contribute hardly 5% of the total passengers. The MTDC officials believe the primary reason for the poor number of Indian travellers is the steeply priced tickets, which comes down to around Rs4 lakh (including taxes) for a seven-day trip.

Deccan Odyssey, run jointly by Deccan Odyssey and the Maharashtra government, is the second such train to be introduced in the country in 2005, after Palace on Wheels run by Rajasthan tourism department.Read Full Article at Daily News