The Hindu Business Line : Bharat Darshan train to open up for domestic tourists

It is a holiday train with a difference. The Bharat Darshan Tourism Train will open up India for domestic tourism, according to Mr V. Sriram, Group General Manager, South Zone, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

It would give people a chance to travel in comfort on a limited budget to places in the North with a tour operator with no worries about food or accommodation. Mr Sriram said that the two trial runs were successful and the passengers were mainly in the age group from 55 to 60 years.

The train will start from Madurai on May 12 and pick up passengers en route and then it would proceed to places of tourism and religious interest in the North.

The cost per person would be Rs 500 per day, which will include accommodation, food and sightseeing.

The train will consist of eight coaches (for 504 passengers), a pantry car and round the clock civic amenity services.

The train will carry only tourists. Regular passengers or outsiders will not be permitted to board. South Indian caterers will run the pantry car. Each coach will have security and a tour manager. Tourist buses are arranged at all the sightseeing spots and halls have been provided for accommodation wherever night stay is planned.

The train will be managed for the coming year by the Chennai-based Travel Times India partnering with IRCTC and operated by the Indian Railways.

Mr Sriram said that there are plans to launch a specific train if the occasion arises. There are plans to run trains to a single point on the southern circuit.

Talking about the hill railways, he said that there are plans to promote the hill railways, two of which are World Heritage Sites. The product has to be developed and a lot of intangibles have to be built around it for it to be a sustainable project. A travel operator for The Nilgiri Mountain Railway will be finalised in a month or two, he said.

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