One of the thematically designed cabins of the Golden Chariot.
| Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
Back in a new avatar after a hiatus, the Golden Chariot — South India’s only luxury train — is beckoning tourists. With the holiday season approaching, new offers have been introduced for tourists, which includes a complimentary one way/ return flight ticket to Bengaluru or Goa (domestic/pan India). The other offers include 10% discount on the published tariff, and one night’s stay at a hotel in Bengaluru or Goa one night before departure.
Tourists will also be allowed to break journey on the departures of six night/ seven-day tours. These offers are valid for the tours of the season 2022- 23, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) said. An official also said that IRCTC is hopeful of getting more foreign as well as domestic bookings in the upcoming year.
The Golden Chariot’s first trip after its comeback, which was flagged off on November 20, ran on a 46% occupancy, according to IRCTC officials. As foreign tourists have started coming back to the country again, the Golden Chariot carried people of Australian, Swiss, Russian, and United Kingdom nationalities along with domestic travellers. With a capacity of 80 seats, around 60 bookings are usually accepted to onboard the train as the rest will be reserved for staff.
The luxury train has 14 compartments out of which 12 have been named after the royal dynasties which ruled Karnataka. While the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) was previously running the train, now it has been leased out to the IRCTC. The tourists have four tour options to select from for their journeys.