Railways to convert 200 saloons into 10 IRCTC-run tourist trains

Railways have decided to convert 200 saloons into 10 luxury tourist trains to be run by IRCTC. This is done in a bid to regulate use of colonial era-style carris and generate additional revenue for national transporter, sources said on Friday. Conceived initially as inspection cars to be exclusively used by railway officials to visit far-flung areas, se saloons comprise two bedrooms, a lounge, a pantry, a toilet and a kitchen that are built to facilitate stay for up to five days.

"While a designated number of saloons will be kept for use of railway officials for inspection, 200 of m will be turned over to IRCTC and will be operated as tourist trains. Upon conversion, around ten such trains can be put into service for public use," source said.

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Last year, amid concerns over misuse of se saloons by officials, Railway minister Piyush Goyal had given up use of his own personal ones, calling m "trappings of a colonial mindset". He had also urged zones to give up saloons for public use. Sources said Railway Board has prepared a set of instructions for its zones to "strictly regulate" number and use of such saloons. It also said that se should be used primarily for inspection purposes with a focus on safety.

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Besides, saloons and observation car for zonal general manrs, each zone will have two additional carris for inspection purposes only, Board is learned to have decided. Each railway division will have a self-propelled inspection car with windows at both ends. As per instructions, remaining should be used for "premium tourist traffic" to earn "additional revenue" for railways.

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Railways has a total of 336 saloon cars across railway zones, among which many have already been condemned. Around 62 are air-conditioned. IRCTC ran first privately-occupied saloon coach, complete with air-conditioned rooms, valet service and attached bathroom in March last year. cost of chartering saloon was around Rs. 2 lakh. Once routes are finalised, details will be made available on IRCTC website for bookings of se saloons, sources said.

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