BENGALURU: The Union Tourism Ministry has told the southern states to explore all rail tourism opportunities by making the best use of the existing rail networks.
At the tourism and culture ministers' conference of southern regions on Friday, officials from the central tourism department said that the government will give all the required support to the states and they are also free to form their own circuits.
This has come as a required breather and boost to the Karnataka Tourism Department which is struggling to meet finances in running the Golden Chariot -- the state-owned luxury express.
"We have told the states that a train will be provided, which can be used by the tourism department on the routes and circuits they chalk out. This need not be a luxury express, but one with two and three-tier AC coaches, on which middle-class people can travel. This is similar to the rail yatra services run by Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) in north Indian states and long trips from Kanyakumari to other pilgrim places," a tourism ministry official told The New Indian Express.
The officials from Karnataka state tourism department said that this was much required as the domestic crowd are unable to travel on the Golden Chariot because of the rates. Running normal train services will only help in drawing more tourists.
At the conference, officials from Karnataka asked the tourism and railways ministry to reduce the haulage charges, from the existing 50 per cent so that their finances are also met.