Luxury Train Journeys in India to Become Cheaper

The main reason for tourists thinking twice before choosing a luxury train tour is the high ticket cost for 7-8 days of travel. Luxury trains like Golden Chariot, Maharajas’ Express, Deccan Odyssey, Palace on Wheels, and others have a lower occupancy rate because of this higher ticket cost.

To boost tourism via the luxury trains, the Indian government has planned to reduce the cost of these luxury trains by at most 50%. The exact decline in cost is not mentioned as of now.

Apart from this, many luxury saloons that were designated only to carry eminent persons of the country like the Prime Minister, President, higher officials of the railway department and others, will now be available to tourists too. The tourists can book the presidential suites in these luxury saloons, which include two-bedroom carriages with a kitchen, private lounge and bathroom. Out of the 336 luxury saloons, 62 are air-conditioned.

These decisions were made during the Railway Board's policy review that took place on March 01, 2018. The railway officials will soon bring these plans into action. The cost of a luxury train accommodation can vary from $3,850 to more than $28,070. This cost will be reduced considerably in the future. With airlines providing attractive offers, luxury trains and many premium trains like Rajdhani, Duranto and Shatabdi have experienced reduced occupancy rates like never before.

The occupancy rate of Royal Rajasthan on Wheels is 63.18%, and Palace on Wheels has dropped to 24.08%. Since its introduction in 1982, the luxury trains in India have never dipped so low. The government has now decided to increase the tourist footprint in the luxury train with this reduction.

On the other hand, the luxury salon cars and presidential suites are maintained by spending crores of money every year. Officials and politicians misuse these saloons to date.  To avoid this corrosion of power parties, the railway department has opened up these exclusive saloons to tourists for a luxury vacation experience.

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