Railways plan new Palace on Wheels, Hill tourist trains

New Delhi, July 26 (UNI) The Indian Railways plan to shortly launch four new Palace on wheels, start several Hill tourist trains and Bharat Darshan trains as part of its efforts to position itself as a prime mover for tourism in the country.

''Given its presence in most parts of India, Railways can position itself to generate substantial revenue focussing on international and demestic tourists. In this regard, the Indian Railways have plans to launch in the coming year at least four new trains on the lines of Rajasthan's Palace on Wheels, a few Hill tourist trains and Bharat Darshan Trains,'' the Managing Director of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation T K Goyal told mediapersons here.

Mr Goyal said the Indian Railways had plans to start another Palace on Wheels in Rajasthan, the process of manufacture of which would begin soon.

''Further Karnataka will also have a train on the lines of Palace of Wheels by the end of the year or the beginning of next year.

Besides, states like Andhra Pradesh and Punjab have also expressed interest in launching similar trains,''Mr Goyal said.

Mr Goyal said such Luxury tourist trains, where the tariff is fixed in dollars, were specifically designed for up market foreign tourists. Keeping this in view, the trains would have specially designed coaches with luxurious interiors, an entertainment lounge, reading library, bar and very exclusive cuisine including continental menu.

''The main purpose of launching of such trains is to attract more foreign tourists. For, while there are at present 400 Million domestic tourists, the number of foreign tourists is just five million,''Mr Goyal said.

As part of efforts to attract foreign tourists, plans are afoot to begin in the hilly areas trains hauled by the vintage steam engines. On the anvil in this regard are a 21 Km hill railway connecting Neral on the Western Indian plains to Metharan, situated close to Mumbai and Pune, the 45.88 Km Nilgiri mountain railway connecting Mettupalayam on the South Indian plains with Udhagamadalam (Ooty) at an altitude of 2203 M above sea level and a train connecting Pathankot to Joginder Nagar sections.

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