Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is examining the proposal of the railways board to run a luxury train on the lines of Palace on Wheels for high-end tourists.
The matter was discussed at a joint meeting between the Indian railways and the Odisha government officials here on Thursday. Presided over by Odisha chief secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi, it was attended by the board's additional member Sanjeev Garg.
Official sources said the chief secretary directed tourism secretary Vishal Dev to examine the financial, administrative, commercial and managerial aspects of the board's proposals and prepare a feasibility report.
"It's just in the proposal stage. We will study feasibility of the proposal from all angles," said an Odisha government official.
It was felt at Thursday's meeting that plying of such luxury trains might be possible in joint collaboration of the railways and the state-run Odisha Tourism Development Corporation. The meeting was also informed that operation of luxury trains was in vogue in states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, which has helped the tourism development in these states. Named as Palace on Wheels, Golden Chariot and Maharaja Express, these trains have five-star hotel facilities.
According to the railways' sources, the luxury trains usually have around 13 coaches each to accommodate the tourists. Besides, there are nine more coaches to extend various services and facilities to the passengers. Around Rs 2.5 crore investment is required to manufacture each coach and furnish it.
Generally, conducted tour packages ranging between three to seven days are drawn up for the trains. After making a halt at a major railway destination, arrangements of Volvo buses are made for the tourists to visit various destinations. "This can be called Train Cruise given the facilities available," said Garg.
A tourism department official said: "Odisha has a rich tourism potentials with attractive tourist destinations such as the Chandipur beach, Puri-Konark marine drive, Bhitarkanika and Similipal national parks, Konark Sun Temple, Jagannath and Lingaraj temples, Chilika lake and the Hirakud reservoir. These can be included under the Train Cruise project. Hence, the board's proposal for running luxury trains seems feasible here."
