To attract small-budget tourists, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Development Corporation (IRCTC) will soon launch a new train, “Village on Wheels”, in its eastern zone.The train will leave from Kharagpur or Balasore stations on a nine-day “Bharat Darshan” tour on November 15. “It will cover popular tourist destinations like Howrah, Gaya, Agra, Mathura, Delhi, Hardwar and Varanasi,” IRCTC’s Eastern Zone General Manager Vivek Srivastav said. “Ticket bookings were started on Wednesday. Depending on the number of passengers, we will decide whether the train will be flagged off from Kharagpur or Balasore,” said Sayed Anwarul Kareem, Assistant Manager (Tourism), IRCTC.According to Kareem, the train will not have any AC coaches as it is conceptualised as a budget train. “We will extend its route to cover some areas in Assam, Bihar and parts of Orissa,” he added. As per the IRCTC plan, 350 passengers will be accommodated in seven sleeper coaches. Beginning its journey either from Balasore in Orissa or from Kharagpur, the train will stop at Burdwan, Durgapur and Asansol en route. “Passengers will be charged Rs 4,900 for the tour. This includes train fare, meals, bus fares and night accommodation where applicable and group guide charges,” Srivastav said.On IRCTC’s pilot run of the “Village on Wheels” earlier this month, Srivatav said that the response was highly encouraging. “The presence of a large number of travel buffs in Bengal prompted us to launch this train from the east India,” he added. One can book the tickets from the IRCTC office or on the website of the corporation. The duration of the tour can be extended depending on the itinerary.
