Karnataka’s luxury train to roll out on November 1

Karnataka’s first luxury train aimed at tapping the high-end traveller will roll out of the Bangalore City Railway station on November 1 this year.

Billed as Karnataka’s answer to Rajasthan’s Palace on Wheels and Maharashtra’s Deccan Odyssey, the luxury train likely to be christened as “The Golden Chariot” will take tourists on a journey through the rich, natural and cultural heritage of the state.

The six-night and seven-day trip across important tourist destinations in Karnataka will cost the traveller around $ 350 per day. The passengers on the luxury train will be taken to Mysore, Srirangapatna, Belur, Halebid, Hampi, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal and Dandeli with overnight stops at Mysore, Hassan, Hospet, Gadag and Londa before ending the journey in Goa.

The coaches, manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Perambur, near Chennai, will be handed over to Karnataka Government on April 25. The Government in turn has given a Mumbai-based agency the charge of furnishing the coaches to world- class standards.

In all, 19 coaches have been built by the ICF for the luxury train. Out of them eleven coaches are air-conditioned salon cars. The remaining coaches will house massage parlours, restaurant and a lounge.

Though Karnataka’s luxury train has seen many delays, the present Government headed by Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is committed to launch the train this year owing to the fiftieth year celebrations of Karnataka’s formation. The Rs 380 million train will be run under a partnership between Karnataka Government and the Indian Railways.

In anticipation of the launch, the Tourism Department of Karnataka has begun promoting the train among national and international travel agents. The concept was appreciated at the International Tourism Bourse in Berlin recently and at a recent tourism event in Delhi, Karnataka’s Principal Secretary to the Department of Tourism I M Vittal Murthy said.

Vittal Murthy added that the Government would shortly commence work on networking the tourist bookings for the luxury train. “We hope to begin with an occupancy rate of 75 per cent that will gradually climb to 95 per cent in the third year”, he added.