VIJAYAWADA: As per the directions of the Ministry of Railways, the South Central Railway (SCR) will introduce theme-based tourist circuit Bharat Gaurav trains, which will be operated by private players.
These trains are expected to highlight India’s rich cultural heritage, magnificent historical places and important pilgrimage destinations, thereby help in boosting the tourism sector besides providing hassle-free transportation to the rail users.
In a press release issued on Thursday, SCR general manager Gajanan Mallya said any private entity can participate in this initiative. “To give flexibility, the private players have been given the option of deciding their business model for operating the Bharat Gaurav trains. They can choose themes, routes, itinerary and tariff that suits their model.”
The registered service providers would have the option to place the order for rakes as per their requirement (minimum 14 and maximum 20 coaches). For utilisation of railways infrastructure and rolling stock, the service provider would be charged for ‘right to use’, fixed and variable haulage and stabling as per the clear-cut policy guidelines. These trains will be treated on par with mail/express trains.
He appealed to private entities to utilise the opportunity and the theme-based tourist circuit trains as it will be a ‘win-win situation’ for all. He observed that SCR has many locations under its network that have rich cultural heritage, magnificent historical places and important pilgrimage destinations, which can be connected by the Bharat Gaurav trains for passengers’ benefit.
For more details, the interested parties may contact R Sudarshan, Chief Commercial Manager (passenger services), SCR at Rail Nilayam or email to bharatgauravtrainsscr@gmail.com, he added.
To be treated on par with mail/express trains
The registered service providers would have the option to place the order for rakes as per their requirement (minimum 14 and maximum 20 coaches). The theme-based tourist circuit trains will be treated on par with mail/express services.