Indian Railways is in the last stage of discussions with global travel company Cox and Kings to start the first pan-India luxury train of the country. A new company is going to handle this project with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Cox & Kings holding 50% equity each. In spite of the slowdown, India's luxury train market has drawn a lot of interest. The Golden Chariot, which travels around the heritage destinations of Karnataka, was started this year in the month of March. The IRCTC wants to bank on the proficiency of Cox & Kings to attract international travelers as the profitability will depend on good occupancy rates.
According to IRCTC’s managing director, Dr Nalin Shinghal, the deal would be struck soon and a new luxury train will target just 100 passengers a day and a separate entity is going to handle this project in collaboration with Cox & Kings. Already India has three luxury trains, but they are confined to one state each, now the new luxury train will cover many tourist destinations across the country. This fourth luxury train of the country will provide an option to the travelers to pick and choose the states they would like to visit. It will be operational between the months of October and March.
