Patna, May 2: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is making it a point to reach each and every household in the rural areas. The corporation is set to train 200 e-ticketing agents in the state for marketing purposes. It will also introduce provisions for luggage insurance.
Tushar Kanti Dutta, an authorised IRCTC agent, said: “We will select 200 e-ticketing agents from among the existing agents in the state. The motive is to train them to sell our tourism products and packages. Our customers in the villages will not only know about the different packages at home but can also avail of them.”
On the provision for luggage insurance, Dutta said: “Till now, passengers did not get their belongings back if they were stolen. But very soon, we are going to start luggage insurance for around Rs 50. Under this provision, passengers can get their items insured so that they get the amount in case anything is stolen.”
Shishir Khare, zonal tourism officer (east zone), IRCTC, said: “We have also arranged for coach bookings and chartered trains. If, for instance, 60 people in a group want to go to some place, according to the norms of Indian Railways we can attach one or two special coaches to an existing train. If a tourist wants to visit places like Goa, Puri, Siliguri, Guwahati, they can also get confirmed tickets under Rail Tour Packages.”
IRCTC’s special tourist train — North India Bharat Teerth Special Train — will meanwhile chug into Bihar on May 14.
Anand Kumar Jha, regional manager, IRCTC, said at a news meet today: “The 10-night and 11-day journey will start from Howrah on May 14. There are three different categories for the tourists and the package includes train fare, stay, food and visiting religious places by bus. The categories are budget, standard and deluxe and the budget class, which is worth Rs 5,650 is already full. Limited seats are left in the standard (Rs 12,700) and deluxe (Rs 20,580) class.”
He added that while there are 60 berths in the budget class, the number of berths in the standard and deluxe class is 192 and 64 respectively.
Camera charges, entry fee, guide charges, tips and expenses of personal nature at the religious sites is, however, excluded from the package.
Khare said: “Passengers can board the train from Howrah, Darshannagar, Asansol Junction and Patna Junction. On May 15, the tourists will reach Varanasi to see the Vishwanath Temple and Ganga Aarti. There will be a night halt at Mata Vaishno Devi on May 17.”
Dutta, who was present at the event, said: “It will be ensured that the tourists have a nice journey. On May 22, they will be taken to Mathura and Vrindavan for sightseeing and on May 23, they will go to Tribeni Sangam. On May 24, the train will start on its return journey.”
