The Indian Railways has decided to reduce the tariff of luxury trains like Palace on Wheels, Golden Chariot and Maharaja Express by as much as 50 per cent. The tariff of these trains as of now is in thousands, which makes the experience unaffordable for the common man.
As per a report, the move follows the Railway Ministry’s decision to slash the haulage charges borne by the State Tourism Departments, partners or stakeholders like IRCTC. Further, the report said that the Indian Railways is going in for this move because of a sharp decline in the interest of foreign travellers in such trains.
The revenue from the two super luxury tourist trains- the Palace on Wheels and Royal Rajasthan- which are operated by both Indian Railways and Rajasthan Tourism, has declined considerably. The revenue has come down by massive 63 per cent for Royal Rajasthan and 24 per cent for Palace on Wheels.
On March 1, the Railway Board reviewed the policy on luxury trains and came to a decision of reducing the existing haulage charges by 50 per cent through a commercial notification.
