Source

MUMBAI, INDIA, January 14, 2004: It is pitched as the most expensive train ever to run on the Indian railway tracks. After the formal flagging off ceremony by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on January 16, The Deccan Odyssey (DO), dubbed as the “five star hotel on rails,” will traverse a distance of 2,200 kilometers covering the Konkan Coast, the Deccan plateau and Goa in early February. The train will unveil the magic of the Deccan plateau and the golden beaches with swaying coconut palms along the Konkan coast for its passengers. A joint venture of the Indian Railways and the Maharshtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), it hopes to bring in the much needed capital to the bankrupt state exchequer.



“The train has all the comforts that you can get in a five star hotel, plus the additional value of seeing the virgin beauty of the coastal areas, traditional Maharashtrian culture and pristine beaches in Goa,” says MTDC managing director Ashish Kumar Singh. A single occupancy suite in the DO during peak season (October to March) will cost US$480, while a triple occupancy cost $285. The DO has a capacity of 80 passengers and will complete the journey in seven days. The 21 blue coaches is furnished in Maharaja style with suites, gyms, two restaurants and conference rooms being part of the train. The cost of this venture is around $6.5 million and the MTDC will be in charge of the service and hospitality and the Railways will be operating the train.



“The 720 kilometer coast line of Maharashtra, dotted with beaches and supplemented by ancient temples, coastal forts that remind of naval power of the Maratha empire, folk arts and malvani cuisine are unique attraction that only this state can offer,” said Sunil Jain, CPRO, Central Railways. Ajanta Caves is along the route. MTDC officials state that it will be run on similar line as the Palace on Wheels, a train made of coaches commissioned for various Maharajas, that has by now become a sort of icon for Rajasthan tourism.

Post Views: 544