KOCHI: Cochin Harbour Terminus, which had been praying for train traffic, received a special guest on Tuesday, when Deccan Odyssey, India’s Blue Train, came chugging in. Immediately, the idyllic station at Willingdon Island buzzed with a frenzy of activities to facilitate the foreign tourists on-board the locomotive. “It was beautiful to see the luxury train roll in,” said a railway officer. “The Maharashtra Tourism Department is running the train in association with Indian Railways. The tour to Kochi was planned by Cholan Tour Agency, Cochin,” said the officer. “This is the first time a luxury train has arrived at the station,” said the officer.
Nithin Nobert, Ernakulam area manager, said the famed ‘Palace on Wheels’ had come calling at the station around two years ago. “However, this is the first time such a very luxurious train has come to Cochin Harbour Terminus,” he said. On whether the train will make another journey to the station, Nobert said, “The present trip was planned on tourists’ request. Since it is a package tour, the train’s itinerary is decided by tourists,” he said.
Nobert said the tourists visited various tourist spots in and around the city before being taken to Taj Gateway hotel. “After the brief break, they boarded the train again at Ernakulam South Railway Station. The train departed at 12:30am to Trivandrum Central, its next destination from where the tourists will go sight-seeing in the capital,” he said.
Deccan Odyssey Itinerary
The train started from Mumbai and covered places like Goa, Madurai and Ooty before reaching Cochin Harbour Terminus. The tourists explored Fort Kochi and Mattanchery before leaving for Thiruvananthapuram. Deccan Odyssey has 21 luxurious coaches, of which 11 are for accommodating guests, while the rest are for different purposes such as dining, lounge, conference car and health spa.