ER geared up to lease rakes to travel & tourism sector under 'Bharat Gaurav' scheme: GM

The Eastern Railway is geared up to introduce leasing of rakes and coaches to the travel and tourism sector under the 'Bharat Gaurav' scheme for showcasing India's rich cultural heritage, its general manager Arun Arora said. Asserting that it is not a privatisation of the Railways, he said that it will facilitate a comprehensive tour package for tourists in getting a hassle-free single window experience. "This landmark initiative of Indian Railways aims to showcase the country's rich cultural heritage and magnificent historical places to the people," Arora said on Saturday. Stating that the Eastern Railway has finalised plans to provide support to the private operators, Arora said that the ER will provide support for developing itineraries, operation of rakes, maintenance and punctuality. He said that service providers will be at liberty to offer packages to tourists that include rail travel, accommodation and sightseeing. The operators will have right to use for a minimum of two years and maximum up to the codal life of coaches, he said, adding that new coaches can also be procured by them. "The service providers enjoy full flexibility to decide on tour package and cost," Arora said. Designing and furnishing interiors of trains by the operators are allowed subject to safety standards of the railways, he said, adding that branding and advertisements are permitted both inside and outside those trains. Under the 'Bharat Gaurav' policy announced by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for theme based tourist circuit trains, professional tour operators will have the scope of running the tourist trains wherein they can lease rakes of 14 to 20 coaches which include 1AC, 2AC, 3AC, Sleeper and chair cars, an ER official said. Public sector IRCTC already runs such theme based tourist circuit trains.