Railways to start budget package tours

After packaged tours on special luxury trains, the Railways would now be taking people on budget tours in the southern states on normal trains in an attempt to reach out to the masses and boost tourism, a senior official said. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which runs luxury trains like the Palace on Wheels in Rajasthan and the Deccan Odyssey in Maharashtra, has decided to start budget packaged tours from other parts of the country to the Southern region, Regional Director (Southern Zone), IRCTC V Sriram said. This is second attempt by IRCTC, a subsidiary of the Railways, to start a packaged tour for budget travellers after the earlier one in 2001, which failed due to some problems with the parent body, he said.

Everything, including food, accomodation, tickets, ground transport, is taken care of under the present scheme and the IRCTC has asked the Railways to block berths on trains for the purpose, Sriram said. He, however, denied that the launch of budget tours was a result of poor patronage faced by luxury trains. "Each luxury train has a gestation period of over five years and it cannot be said that they have failed," he said, adding proposals for new luxury trains are being received. Under the scheme, passengers can book tickets from IRCTC appointed agents. "We are concerned about the ground level handling of the tourists as tourism is all about hospitality. The laid back attitude of the Railways will not do," said a travel and tour agent.

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