Regal luxury awaits the poor on trains

New Delhi, Feb 24 (UNI) A new brand of luxury trains meant for the poor with fully airconditioned coaches at cheaper fares will soon become part of Indian Railways bandwagon.

Named "Garib Rath" (poor man's chariot), they are being run on four routes initially on a pilot basis, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad announced here today.

Presenting the Railway Budget for 2006-07, Mr Prasad announced that the Garib Rath trains will have only one class and the fares will be 25 per cent cheaper than the AC III tier fares.

Out of the four proposed 'Garib Raths,' three would originate from Delhi connecting Patna, Mumbai and Chennai on a weekly basis.

The fourth will on the Saharsa-Amritsar section as a bi-weekly linking Barauni, Hajipur, Sonpur, Chhapra and Gorakhpur.

UNI SH/KAS LS KP1429