A waiter serves food to passengers at Los Angeles International Airport. Passengers at Patna Junction could soon get facilities available at international airports’ lounges. (Reuters)

Forget the chaos at Patna Junction. Get ready to wallow in the luxury of a world-class air-conditioned (AC) executive lounge while waiting for your train, but for a price.

Former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi may have paid a heavy price for proposing to hike train fares but before saying the final goodbye, he has given a wonderful gift to the capital’s residents.

Patna Junction is among the 50 stations across the country where AC executive lounges with state-of-the-art facilities, just like airports, have been proposed. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) and Indian Railways will execute the project on a public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

Elaborating the plan, East Central Railway chief commercial manager Deepak Chhabra said: “The model of the lounge has been prepared and Patna residents or passengers passing through Patna station can avail of the service.”

However, for every service, the passenger has to pay a fixed rate. Sharing the details of the plan, a senior IRCTC official, preferring anonymity, said: “Passengers will have to pay varied charges depending on the service. The model of the plan has already been finalised and by the end of this year, the executive lounge would be opened to the passengers. A 3,500sqft space has been earmarked for the Rs 2-crore project on the first floor of the terminal at the Karbighaiya end.”

Sharing details on the facilities, Chhabra said: “Passengers in transit would be able to freshen up in the rest room provided with lockers, bathrooms and sofas. They can have light refreshments like tea, coffee, sandwich, burger, cold drinks and other packed eatables. People opting for wash-and-change service will get quality toiletries like laundered towels and shower kits. Another room will provide meet-and-greet service and can be used for small conferences with PowerPoint presentation. Passengers would be able to rest in the dormitories. The lounge will have a television, music system, sofa-cum-bed, phone and Wi-Fi-enabled computer/laptop. Passengers can book these facilities over phone in advance.”

Patna IRCTC regional manager Anand Kumar Jha said: “We are working on the proposal. The users’ fee for availing the proposed facilities has not been finalised yet.”