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New track: Ms Geetika Kalha, Principal Secretary (Tourism), Punjab, and Mr Ashok Kumar, Executive Director (Tourism and Catering), Railway Board, showing the signed documents after signing an MoU on the introduction of luxury tourism train in the presence of the Minister for Railways, Mr Lalu Prasad, and the Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, in the Capital on Wednesday.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Oct. 1 The Punjab Government and Tourism Ministry have requested Indian Railways to waive off haulage charges during the initial two-three years for the proposed luxury train, the agreement for which was signed here on Wednesday.

Indian Railways on Wednesday signed an agreement with the Punjab Government to start a luxury train service that would cover Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab. The train, which will cost about Rs 36 crore, is likely to roll out of the rail coach factory in Kapurthala in two years. The rolling stock cost will be shared by the Railways (Rs 13.5 crore), the Punjab Government (Rs 13.5 crore) and the Tourism Ministry (Rs 7.25 crore).

As per the current policy for luxury train operations, the luxury train operator has to pay haulage charges to Indian Railways to run the train for the first three years of operations. After that, the Railways will also take a part of gross revenue (of five to 10 per cent) depending on the occupancy levels. Now, for the luxury train proposed by the Punjab Government, the haulage charges are likely to be in the range of Rs 20 lakh per trip. The Minister of Tourism and Culture, Ms Ambika Soni, and the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, requested the Railways to waive off the haulage charges during the initial period. The Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, said the Railways will try to “defer” the payment if possible.

The Punjab Government, through Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board, will undertake the overall management of the project including provision of on-board and off-board facilities and its marketing in India and abroad.

Indian Railways currently runs tourist trains in association with Governments of Rajasthan (Palace on Wheels), Maharashtra (Deccan Odyssey) and Karnataka (Golden Chariot).

The proposed Luxury Tourist Train will cover popular destinations in North India including Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Patiala and Kurukshetra including Agra, Delhi and Jaipur in its seven day itinerary.

The train is targeted at the premium-end clientele and the rake will comprise restaurant cars, multiple cuisines, and lounge bars, observation cars with a viewing gallery, gym, spa, beauty salon, library, games room, and a computer centre.

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