Kochi: When the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) planned a new circuit for its premier luxury train ‘Maharajas Express’ to southern states, it had domestic tourists in mind for the inward journey from Mumbai to states like Kerala where the monsoon is in full swing.
However, it has turned out that while the inward journey (Southern Sojourn – Monsoon Special) failed to get any bookings, which ultimately forced the organisers to cancel the circuit altogether, the response from the state for the return trip was surprisingly “above expectation”.
“We have received a total 22 bookings from the state for the return trip from Thiruvananthapuram to Mumbai (Southern Jewels –Monsoon Special) on July 1, including two bookings for the full tour with duration of eight days and seven nights duration. This was much above our expectation,” said a senior IRCTC official.
It would cost '5.68 lakh per person for the full tour in one of the most luxurious trains. The 23 coach long Maharajas’ Express, with a capacity of 88 guests, is a cut above other luxury trains with state of the art features like two bars cum lounges and two restaurants among others.
“Despite the bookings the entire circuit now stands cancelled as we cannot afford to get the train run upto here empty. The cost of operation alone amounts to '4.5 crore to five crore,” the official said.
What resulted in the expected response from the state is the decision to allow ‘Break Journeys’ in Maharajas Express for the very first time. Under the scheme, passengers are allowed to avail part of the total journey on a fixed price per person on twin sharing basis.
“For instance, two persons can travel in the luxury train from Thiruvanant-hapuram to Chettinad (Tamil Nadu) for just '36,243 (including taxes) and spend a night in the train besides enjoying the site-seeing at the tourist spot. Similarly they can enjoy a two-day trip from Thiruvananthapuram to Mahabalipuram (Kanjeepuram district of Tamil Nadu) for '72,486 (deluxe cabin),” the official said. Encouraged by the response, the IRCTC is going ahead with its next planned schedule — Southern Sojourn will start from Mumbai on September 9 and Southern Jewels will start from Trivandrum on September 16.
