Village on Wheels

After the astounding success of Palace on Wheels in north India; the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Development Corporation (IRCTC) is planning to launch the country's first "Village on Wheels" train. The  proposed train may introduced in the eastern zone to woo budget travellers.

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.

As part of the scheme, a 10-coach train will start from Kharagpur on November 15 on a nine-day 'Bharat Darshan' tour in the Howrah-Gaya-Agra-Mathura-Delhi-Hardwar-Varanasi-Howrah circuit, IRCTC's Eastern Zone General Manager Vivek Srivastav said.

"This will be its maiden commercial run. It is the first time in the country that a Village-on-Wheels is being launched," he said, adding that 350 passengers would be accommodated in the seven sleeper class coaches for the tour.

Beginning the journey either from Balasore in Orissa or from the bordering station of Kharagpur to accommodate passengers from that state, the train will also stop at Burdwan, Durgapur and Asansol en-route to board passengers, he said.

Passengers would have to pay Rs 4,900 for the tour. This includes, train fare, all meals starting from morning tea to dinner, bus fares and night accommodation where applicable and group guide charges, Srivastav said.