KOCHI: In a first, private trains will be available for tourists from Kerala to destinations such as Goa, Mumbai and Ayodhya. To begin with, the private train journey from the state to Goa will begin next month.
The facility is being launched by SRMPR Global Railways, a Chennai-based tour operator, in partnership with the Kochi-based Princy World Travel Limited.
An individual or a group of 600 passengers can book a private train journey to the three prominent destinations from Kerala, said officials.
The inaugural journey is set to depart from Thiruvananthapuram on June 4 to Madgaon in Goa. The four-day tour package is available in three categories: 2-tier AC at Rs 16,400 per person, 3-tier AC at Rs 15,150 per person and non-AC sleeper at Rs 13,999. The package includes stay, food and sightseeing. Services like off-board travel and excursions by buses, stay at hotels, tour guides, meals and travel insurance are provided along with these train journeys and allied onboard services.
Though the Indian Railways introduced the concept of private players operating tourist trains on theme-based circuits under the Bharat Gaurav Tourist Trains around a couple of years back, this is the first time that a private company is getting into this segment from Kerala.
Earlier, such private train tours were launched from states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. For instance, the government of Karnataka in association with IRCTC operates private trains to Kashi Prayag, Gaya and Ayodhya. Similarly, private trains are operated between Coimbatore and Shirdi.
Plan to import private trains from Germany
According to officials of Princy Tours, the trains are purchased by SRMPR from the Indian Railways to operate exclusively for tourism purposes. “From Kerala, there are mainly three tour packages — Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram to Goa (four-day package) and Thiruvananthapuram to Ayodhya (eight-day package),” said Devika Menon, director of Princy World Travel Ltd.
“Plans are on to operate around 12 trains from Kerala. Once the initial three routes gain maximum traction, new routes will be introduced,” she said. “This train is being introduced on a trial basis. The SRMPR group will import special trains from Germany to run them privately. Hopefully, the trains will arrive by this year's end,” she said. “The trains have limited stops and only those who have booked the tickets can enter the train. A total of 60 staff, including the paramedical team and pantry are available onboard,” said Devika Menon. The train is equipped with CCTV cameras and WiFi.
As per the initial plan, the tourist train will operate to the specific destinations with a week’s gap. “We have received the slots to operate from June to September. The dates for Mumbai and Ayodhya will be released soon,” she said.
The trains will have boarding from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod from Kerala.