A modern low budget Rail Yatri Niwas at New Delhi Railway Station

New Delhi, July 16 (UNI) A newly renovated low budget Rail Yatri Niwas adjoining the New Delhi Railway Station was today launched which is nothing but a bonanza for passengers.

Known to be India's first 'Ginger Rail Yatri Niwas,' it is a sparkling tall building in new healthy hues and shiny warm reds on the Ajmeri Gate side of the Railway Station.

The hotel was originally built in 1988 as part of Indian Railways efforts to offer hotel rooms to railway passengers at reasonable prices.

The Taj Group owned by the Tatas makes budget hotels under the brand name 'Ginger.' Developed by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) and the Roots Corporation Limited (RCL), the property was taken over by the former in April, 2005 with a mandate to upgrade it on a Public Private Parthership (PPP) basis.

Keeping the objective of building a world class service at affordable prices, IRCTC allotted the task of renovating and operating it for 15 years on a PPP basis. The procedure adopted was that of an open tender.

This task was taken up by M/s Roots Corporation Limited, a 100 per cent subsidiary of The Indian Hotels Company Limited, which owns the Taj Group of hotels.

The building was stripped to its bare shell and renovated in a period of nine months with an investment of about Rs. 10.5 crores. It offers the customers 109 'Smart Basic' rooms and a plethora of additional facilities.

A guest at the hotel now has the facilites of a well fitted orange and blue theme rooms with LCD TVs, posturepedic mattresses, anti-allergy pillows, tropical duvets, Smart Bev Tea Coffee Maker, complimentary bottles of water and an access card to enter the room.

The hotel also offers a gymnasium and a meeting room for the convenience of its guests.

Additionally, it offers a spacious restaurant, that will sell an array of food from across India and different parts of the world. A book store for catering to a traveler's intellectual appetite and a Travel Desk for their local site seeing and travel needs are also being made available as a part of the facilites.

The hotel is equipped with a medical store.

The rooms will be offered at an incredible price of Rs. 1199 inclusive of taxes. Fifty per cent of the rooms will be offered at Rs 999 per room per night inclusive of taxes. The place will also have four-bed rooms where each bed will be offered at Rs 250 for a night.

In addition to being in the heart of the Central Business District of the Capital, it is well connected with other parts of the capital located as it is virtually above the Delhi Metro Station.

UNI GS RR RAI2005