On track with royalty

Surabhi

Call it slow motion travel. If you are looking to 'do' India and 'do' it nice and easy, then travelling by a luxury train may just be an option that you could consider. And the price tag of course isn't going to bother you.

You can see the pomp of Rajasthan and the grandeur of the Deccan while chugging away in a luxury train. Tourists can pick from three options - the Palace on Wheels and the Heritage on Wheels for Rajasthan, or the Deccan Odyssey for Maharashtra. All three allow you to explore the country at your own pace with the kind of hospitality and style that the best hotels provide globally.

The Palace on Wheels is a week-long tour starting from Delhi and travelling all through Rajasthan - to Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Sawai Madhopur to Chittaurgarh, Udaipur, Bharatpur and Agra in Uttar Pradesh. In keeping with the royal theme and to give you an authentic touch, all 14 coaches in the train are named after erstwhile Rajput states. They come fitted with matching themes and motifs.

The Heritage on Wheels also has a similar concept but provides a shorter itinerary of three days by metre guage. Starting from Jaipur, it travels to Bikaner and Gajner on the second day and on the third day goes on to the Tal Chhapar Black Buck Sanctuary located on the fringe of the Thar Desert.

And if you've done the touristy Rajasthan travel earlier, then you can opt for the Deccan Odyssey. The Deccan Odyssey, as the name suggests, travels around places of historic and cultural intersest in the Deccan in a eight-day trip. It starts off from Mumbai, goes to Jaigarh, Ratnagiri, Sawantwadi before reaching Goa. From there it goes to Pune, Aurangabad, the famed Ajanta and Ellora caves and then to Nasik. It then returns to Mumbai where it has a day tour for its passengers.

The theme of the train and the service is much the same as that provided on the Palace on Wheels and the Heritage on Wheels. The train, with its 21 coaches however has room for more passengers. Depending on your wallet, you can travel in either the coupes in its 11-passenger cars or go in for the Presidential Suite cars with two coupes each, which offer the ultimate in luxury.

Travellers on all three trains are also given the option to explore the cities in air-conditioned deluxe buses and their lunch and dinner is organised at the best hotels in that town. Since the trains cater mainly to foreign tourists, there are also cultural programmes and shopping trips that are the other attractions of the package.

Living up to their names, the trains also offer facilities that would be deemed as luxury on any other train running in the country. Each saloon has a mini bar and a television. Additionally, there are restaurants on board, which serve an array of Indian and Continental cuisines. Facilities such as a bar, gym and beauty parlour are also available on the train. For those who cannot stay away from their work even on vacation, there is a conference room too. Soon a satellite phone is also going to be installed on the Palace on Wheels. And what's more, each passenger also has a personal attendant to look after his/her needs.

Summing up the theme of these trains, a state government official said: "Our basic aim is to provide not only a sight-seeing package but also amenities and comforts which five star hotels provide as we target mainly the high income foreign tourists." Another criteria kept in mind by the organisers is that the trains would be suitable only for those tourists who have ample time on them." Typically the train package is for seven-eight days. Realistically, only travellers with about two to three weeks time in India would like to spend an entire week sightseeing by train," the official added.

However with the average Indian earning more and spending more, the trains are looking at expanding their target base. Says G N Bhatt joint director, Rajasthan Information Centre, "We are now also offering packages to Indian Companies and encouraging their employees to travel on these trains as part of their LTC."

It is primarily the state tourism departments that are responsible for running the trains. Tickets for these journeys can be booked through any of their authorised general sales agents all over the world. Alternatively, they can also be booked at state tourism offices or online.

Bouyed by the popularity of the Palace on Wheels, which is booked till 2010, Rajasthan is planning another train with similar services that will be launched in September. And for those who want to see other parts of the country, plans for more such trains are on the anvil in both Punjab and Karnataka. The Punjab Palace on Wheels in its eight-day tour will touch the Taj Mahal, Jaipur, Dharamsala and Kangra Valley in Himachal Pradesh. In addition, it will also go to Patiala and then move on to Amritsar and Kapurthala. From there the train will go to Kangra valley and then travel to Wagah.

The eight-day trip on the luxury train to Karnataka will include visits to Hampi and Pattadakal, Mysore Palace, the backwaters of Kerala, Bangalore, and the ruins of Vijayanagara Empire.

The railway ministry is also planning to allow private operators to run such trains. Tour operators Cox and Kings and the Oberoi Group of Hotels are keen to run their own luxury trains. The Orient Express has also shown its interest in a similar project. Meanwhile the railway-run Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is also thinking of starting a similar train. However, the profitability of such trains remains an issue, so much so that IRCTC decided to exit the business and now the trains are run independently by the state governments. Sources say while the Palace on Wheels enjoys full occupancy, the Deccan Odyssey has only 30 per cent occupancy.

However for those coming to India with visions of royalty and splendour, these trains are a dream come true. As Lucy Phillip, a recent traveller says: "It was everything and more than what I had thought of. I'll remember the experience forever."