Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) should soon get Navaratna status, Suresh C Angadi, Minister of State for Railways, said here today.

IRCTC is a listed mini-ratna public sector unit, and needs to be profitable continuously for a certain number of years to get the Navratna status.

Angadi said this while announcing the relaunch of the Golden Chariot luxury train. IRCTC will refurbish the train and commence operations from March 2020.

“Keep the prices competitive to attract more people,” Angadi said.

Hoping that people, especially those in the IT sector, and foreigners will use the luxury tourist trains, Angadi hoped IRCTC and the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSDTC) will price the ticket competitively to ensure wider use by the people.

The KSTDC-operated Golden Chariot luxury train had run into losses due to low occupancy levels and high costs. Lower occupancy and higher haulage charges (the rate charged by the Indian Railways for pulling the train) had pushed the Golden Chariot into a loss.

Now, the Indian Railways has decided to halve the haulage charge and make the running of the train sustainable, CT Ravi, Minister of Tourism, Karnataka, said.

IRCTC and KSTDC will have a revenue-sharing arrangement depending on the level of occupancy.

Besides KSTDC, luxury trains operated include one each by the Tourism Development Corporations of Rajastnan and Maharashtra as also by IRCTC.

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