Maharaja Express makes maiden visit to Vadodara

Platform number six of the Vadodara railway station was decked up in princely attire on Sunday afternoon to welcome the Maharaja Express,billed as Asia’s costliest train,on its maiden visit to the city.

With over 60 foreign tourists onboard the dazzling red train,the passengers in their seven-day tour will trail along some of the princely states of western India at a cost of Rs 1 lakh per day. “It’s a joint venture between the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation and Cox and Kings India Limited. This is a trial run of the new train and we expect more tourists to take interest in the pan-India tour,” said A K Srivastava,Divisional Railway Manager,Vadodara.

He added that the train has presidential and deluxe suits. In Vadodara,which is its only halt in Gujarat,the tourists were taken to the World Heritage Site of Champaner and later to Jambughoda. On their way back to the station,they visited Laxmi Vilas Palace and Fatehsinh Museum. The 23-coach luxury train with fully air-conditioned cabins has a capacity of 84 passengers. The train was flagged off from Mumbai,halted in Gujarat and later left for Rajasthan where it will halt at Udaipur,Jodhpur,Bikaner,Jaipur and Ranthambhor.