Vidarbha Queen may become operational soon

Nagpur, Feb 25 (UNI) The proposed narrow-gauge heritage tourist train Vidarbha Queen, which will ferry passengers to the Tadoba tiger reserve in Chandrapur district in Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, is expected to become operational soon.

Talking to newpersons here yesterday, the South East Central Railway (SECR), Nagpur Division Manager P K Srivastava said the train, which will include seven air-conditioned (AC) coaches, one non-AC coach and one observation car besides one coach for the staff, would be ready by March 1.

The rake would be formally handed over to the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) in the first week of March he said, adding that four AC coaches were ready and the remaining three were on the verge of completion.

Mr Srivastava said the fare structure and schedule for Vidarbha Queen was being worked out by the MTDC and the Railway Board and was expected to be finalised soon. The train would be jointly operated by the Indian Railways and MTDC on a revenue-sharing basis, the DRM said.

The formula proposed for revenue sharing includes a 45 per cent share for the railways and 55 per cent for the MTDC, he said.

Mr Srivastava said the Vidarbha Queen will take tourists from Nagpur to Nagbhir from where the MTDC will take them by bus to the Tadoba tiger reserve. As per the agreement, the railways will operate the train, while the MTDC will handle the booking, passage of tourists to and from Nagbhir and accommodation of the tourists.

Mr Srivastava said the Nagpur Division had achieved a growth of 51.4 per cent in freight earnings, 13.38 in passenger earnings and 16.26 per cent in the number of passengers handled during the first ten months of the current financial year as compared to the same period during the previous fiscal.

The high-speed train, Bilaspur-Hazrat Nizamuddin-Bilaspur Rajdhani Express, running at 130 km per hour between Bilaspur and Nagpur, would run in the first week of March, he said.

The higher speed would help to cut the travel time between Bilaspur and Nagpur by an hour and a half he said.

The platforms at seven stations on the division were being extended to accommodate 24-coach trains the DRM said.

The stations include Tirora, Amgaon, Dongargarh, Kamptee, Salekasa, Rajnandgaon and Itwari, he added.

UNI