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Luxury trains will add a new dimension to the country’s tourism landscape when two such trains with private participation are launched in the next three months, charging up to Rs 3.7 lakh per person in a presidential suite for a week’s travel. Travel firms Thomas Cook’s subsidiary Travel Corporation (India) and Cox & Kings will soon launch luxury trains on the tourist circuits of the country even as the global slowdown has hit occupancy in luxury trains abroad, such as the Orient Express in Europe — that was immortalised in Agatha Christie’s mystery novels — and the Blue Train in South Africa.                                        

Travel Corporation (India) will launch The Indian Maharaja-Deccan Odyssey, the country’s first privately-operated luxury tourist train, on November 18 from Mumbai on a seven night-eight day trip on Mumbai-Aurangabad-Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Sawai Madhopur-Jaipur-Bharatpur-Agra-Delhi circuit. The itinerary includes visit to Ellora Temple Caves, Ajanta Caves, City Palace, Lake Pichola, Jag Mandir Palace, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve and National Park, Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. 

“We were initially wondering whether we would get enough bookings since India’s biggest foreign tourist markets, the US and the UK, are still battling recession. But we have received good response, particularly from the UK, Japan and Germany. In addition, we are getting bookings from Russia, an emerging tourist market for India,” said Sunit Suri, chief operating officer for inbound leisure travel at Thomas Cook India. Efforts are on to tap CEOs and corporates for small company conferences and meetings, he added. 

The Indian Maharaja’s in-house hospitality will be managed by Taj Hotels and Resorts. The 21-coach Deccan Odyssey — which is owned by Maharashtra Tourism and has been leased by the travel firm — can accommodate 96 passengers, where the presidential suite is almost a replica of a five-star hotel with a living area, a bedroom and a personalised washroom. 

The luxury train offers Silver Class at $525 per person per night on twin-sharing basis, Platinum Class at $950 per person on twin-sharing basis that offers luxury of the presidential suite, and single occupancy with tariff up to $1,120 (Rs 53,000) per person per night. Thomas Cook claims to have booked 70% of its inventory through 16 departures for the winter season starting November 18. Rival Cox & Kings is rolling out its luxury train in a tie up with the Indian Railways Catering & Tourism (IRCTC) in January next year. The joint venture, Royale Indian Rail Tours (RIRTL), will operate Maharajas’ Express, a pan-India luxury train. 

RIRTL will offer two itineraries: a seven night-eight day trip through Mumbai-Vadodara-Udaipur-Jodhpur-Bikaner-Jaipur-Ranthambore-Agra-Delhi and back, and a six night-seven day trip across Delhi-Agra-Gwalior-Khajuraho-Bandhavgarh-Varanasi-Gaya-Kolkata, with an option of a reverse trip on the second itinerary. These new trains will complement the three tourist trains operated by the Indian Railways and state governments: Palace on Wheels, Royal Rajasthan on Wheels and the Golden Chariot. The popular Palace on Wheels, which runs on Delhi-Uttar Pradesh-Rajasthan circuit, was the country’s first made-for-tourist train and was launched on January 26, 1982. Tariffs vary widely in these trains, with Palace on Wheels charging $500-600 per person per night and the Golden Chariot up to Rs 1 lakh per person for a seven-day trip. 

There is room for several players in the luxury tourist train segment in the country, say industry players. However, some experts question the wisdom of launching such luxury travel offerings when most countries in the western hemisphere are still battling recession and the luxury segment has taken a beating. 

“The Mumbai terror attacks and the economic recession had particularly impacted the luxury train business in the country. In addition, the government has not been able to market the existing offerings well and they lose out on business to other countries or other customised travel packages,” a senior executive with a travel consultancy firm said. Ironically, one of the winning propositions that the new luxe train operators could be vouching for is low-cost luxury tourism. Travel industry players point out that luxury travel usually means $1,000-1,100 tariff per night and Thomas Cook’s tariff for the train journey is a tad lower than global standards that may have helped it get a good response.