Rail Budget 2014 – Projecting Railways as a Carrier of Indian Growth

 Railway of India is the lifeline of the country and is invincible for economy’s growth. A carrier of people, freight and economy, railways offer an opportunity of travelling far and wide, all across the country. The committed 24x7 service of the trains here touches the life of Indians across all sorts of barriers. It connects people to places and binds India as a country.

Keeping all these facets in mind, the railways sector needs huge budget allocation, project management and monitoring for their yearly maintenance and sustenance. To fulfill this purpose, rail budgets are announced annually to revive the railway service, strengthen the connectivity and serve the passengers in a better way.

This year, the Rail Budget 2014 was announced by Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Government of India. Considering the massive size and nature of Indian railways, the hon’ble minister emphasized on boosting investments, cleanliness and safety in a bid to improve quality of travelling. As a part of infrastructure building, he proposed the inclusion of effective station management techniques including cleanliness and catering.

Under this scheme, he aims to build stations at par with the service standards appointed at the world class airports. He even suggested better amenities for the passengers. Provision of foot over bridges, escalators, lifts, etc will be installed in Public-Private Partnership (PPP route.)

There is something for the benefit of business travellers too. A lot of them use Indian railways and spend substantial time on travel. For such travellers, Office on Wheels is another ambitious project that aims to add best value to their time and gives them hold over workstations in select trains on payment basis. A pilot project will be launched by this year.

Travellers can also enjoy Wi-Fi Services in A1 and A category stations and in select trains. Real-time tracking of trains and rolling stock is also the part of this progressive budget.

The highlight of this budget was the announcement of many tourist-friendly train packages. Special interest tourism certainly has gained weightage and the ministry has acknowledged the fact with the launch of many special tourist trains. The areas covered include Northeastern States that will be connected with Eco Tourism, Religious Tourism and Education Tourism packages.

Bullet train is another ambitious project that is in the offing. This train will connect destinations with a world class speed in less time. The first bullet train was announced during rail budget 2014 which will run on Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector.

In addition to this, the existing trains will also witness the increase in speed ranging between 160-200 kmph in select 9 sectors. The identified sectors are Delhi-Agra, Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Kanpur, Nagpur-Bilaspur, Mysore-Bengaluru-Chennai, Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Chennai-Hyderabad and Nagpur-Secunderabad.

India is a land of pilgrimages. There are different pilgrimage sites in the country dedicated to different faiths. Indian Railways has now acknowledged this fact. Based on this, the ministry is planning to launch many special package tourist trains on identified pilgrim routes like Devi Circuit, Jyotirling Circuit, Jain Circuit, Christian Circuit, Muslim/Sufi Circuit, Sikh Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Famous Temple Circuit, etc.

The ministry is also launching a tourist train from Rameshwaram connecting cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Ayodhya, Varanasi and Haridwar. A special train will also connect the tourist places of Karnataka and Maharashtra as well.

Passengers’ safety is of paramount importance for Indian Railways. To strengthen safety, the railways will recruit 17000 RPF constables. Out of them, 4,000 will be women RPF constables. These special constables will be stationed to protect ladies travelling alone in each class of travel. With the induction of women RPF constables, coaches for ladies will be escorted. Additional care will be taken for ladies travelling alone in all classes.

With all such big announcements, the Rail Budget looks promising and will surely have a positive impact on India Rail Tours for both international and domestic travellers.

Experience the man-made feat of Indian Railways through Konkan Route

Konkan is a coastal strip sandwiched between the Sahyadri Mountains in the east and the Arabian Sea in the west. As a result of this, the terrain has evolved to be one of the unusually unique experiences in India. One of the least explored regions of the country, Konkan coastline is filled with surprisingly clean beaches, lush scenery, spiritual locations and rich Maratha heritage. Once a trading region where Portuguese and British arrived to gain hold over India’s rich spices, cotton, rice, cotton, silk, precious stones, Konkan has now evolved as a distinctive region filled with cultural, historical and traditional attractions. Also, one can’t miss out the tender mix of spices and tangy flavours in the Konkani coastal curries.

A missing link between commercial capital of India, Mumbai, and Mangalore, Konkan Route is a massive 741-kilometre railway line that connects Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka States. Enroute, the tracks trace the region of matchless beauty along the criss-crossing rivers, plunging valleys and mountains that rise into the clouds, leaving the traveller mesmerized with its beauty.

A lifeline of Konkan region, the 15year old route is serving the region in focus and the nation at large with its strong connectivity. The route is not only helping the locals with strong connectivity and transportation of goods and essentials, but also is a formidable achievement in resurrecting inland tourism to the western peninsula coastline. Rich in mineral resources, dense forests and a landscape fringed with paddy, coconut and mango groves, Konkan region is the nature in the most natural form.

The untouched location with the highly sensitive coastal hills was not an easy task to lay down the tracks. It was also one of the most challenging train routes to plan and execute. The difficult terrain to be conquered and the short construction time required the engineers to be alert and implementing of several technological innovations, that too with the collective efforts of team. The spectacular terrain here overcame the natural challenges with the support and painstaking efforts of the train staff.

The spreading of the route and its in time completion also changed the lives of the Engineers and other people, besides people having the benefits of this ambitious project. For them, the Konkan project is a matter of pride, an achievement of overcoming all odds and a manmade feat over nature.

And after 15 years, the route is actively used in transporting goods, accelerating leisure tourism and connecting families. Daily around 38 passenger trains run on this single line section, pass through tunnels and give tourists a rich experience of travelling from the trails of nature.

Tourists can also enjoy this heartwarming ride through special Konkan Rail Tours. Not just they allow them to take in the unlimited pleasures of the naturally serene journey, but also help the tourists experience the fantastic destinations in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and even in Kerala.

http://www.indiarailtours.com/konkan-rail-tour.html

Unique Facts About Railways of India

Besides being the largest connected transportation network in India, the railways here are also renowned for many more unique facts. The following post is an attempt to sum up such interesting facts involved in a rail tour of India.

1)      Fastest Train – The country’s fastest train, New Delhi-Bhopal Shatabdi Express covers massive 704 km in connecting the capital of India New Delhi and Bhopal stretch in 7 hours 50 minutes. The all air-conditioned superfast train achieves its maximum speed of 150km/h on the Faridabad-Agra section. Shatabdi Express is a range of superfast train which operates in a course of single day and transports a passenger from one destination to another.

2)      Slowest Train – Coming on to the slowest train, how can we miss out the hill trains of India. The world heritage site under mountain railways of India, these toy trains take longer time span to cover the distance from plain to hill station. One such hill train, Metupalayam-Ooty Nilgiri Passenger Train is the slowest running train of Indian railways. Nilgiri Mountain Railway slowly runs at the pace of 10 km/hour and enroute offers majestic vistas around the hill station.

3)      Longest Route – Vivek Express from Dibrugarh (Assam) to Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu) is the longest rail route. Covering the distance of 4273 km, this train takes about 82 hours and 30 minutes to complete its journey. This train is the longest run in terms of total time and distance in Indian Railways.

4)      Longest Non-Stop Travel – Next, the longest non stop travelling train is Trivandrum-Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express. The train connects Delhi to Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala. The longest stretch of travelling aboard this express train stretches non-stop over 528km stretch between Vadodara and Kota.

5)      Maximum Stops – The train Howrah – Amritsar Express train is known for the maximum number of stops. The express train owns the record for maximum number of stops with 115 halts during its journey.

6)      World's longest platform – India also has the world’s longest railway platform in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The platform, spread over the area of 4,446.9  feet in length hosts three new platforms.

7)      Longest rail bridge - Vembanad Rail Bridge in Kerala is the longest rail bridge in India covering a stretch of 4.62 km. This is mainly used for freight transportation in the state.

8)      Longest tunnel – The country’s longest railway tunnel is Jammu and Kashmir’s Pir Panjal Tunnel. With the length of 11.215 km, the ambitious tunnel aims at connecting the region of Jammu with Kashmir.

These are few of the astonishing facts about rail tour of India that makes a railway journey even more fascinating. Know more about railways of India with a journey on a train. 

Why travel aboard Indian Railways?

After knowing that Indian Railways are for both masses and classes, if you still doubt the services of Indian railways, then this blog post is meant for you. With a track network spanned over 60,000 kilometres, the railways of India in its periphery include around 7500 stations ferrying nearly 20 million people daily. Now, these are huge numbers which we are talking. Covering the entire subcontinent with its elaborate network, the trains are the most preferable mode of transportation. Be it large cities or small villages and towns, all at least have a railway station which bring them closer to the other connected cities.

Other than that, the lack of air connectivity in between many Indian cities also makes railways a preferred medium of long distance transportation. Many trains are equipped with comfortable berths and catering system to take care of overall requirements to be taken into consideration in a journey. This is done to offer the best on board travel experience to the users.

Next important facet is the experience the train journey offers to the travellers. India has some of the most stunning and remarkable locations that add to the fascinating rail tour experience to the users. There are railway stations in the hill stations, villages, cities, towns, coastal cities that bridge the gap and present some of the finest railway experiences. Through the window of a railway, the passengers can gaze at the picturesque panoramic beauty of farms, rivers, sea etc and enrich their knowledge of being close to India. In short, the train journey is a picturesque delight wherein the window opens up the panorama of pure Indian sights while passing through its course.

Such kind of experiential traveling in a train can also add a new dimension to a fascinating visitor's experience. Apart from the destination experiences, the train journey also offers a unique experience of travelling within one of the world’s largest railways and observing rich Indian lifestyle in a novel way.

Rail tours are an easy way to brush up your knowledge about the Indian destinations and their connectivity via railways. These special itineraries also make sure that the passengers derive the best of rail travel experience in the country. To book an enriching train tour package, visit India rail tours. 

India Rail Tours – Preferred By Masses and Classes

Travelling by train is one of India’s classic experiences. Serving millions of commuters, pilgrims and leisure tourists in their movement within the country, Railways of India are a preferred medium of transportation by masses and classes. Conceived by the British imperialists, this institution has become quintessentially Indian over the 150 years of its successful journey.

Connecting the lengths and breadths of India through 60,000 km network of track and 14,000 locomotives, the railways here serve the average of 12 million passengers every day throughout the year. These humungous numbers highlight the reach, network and popularity of trains in the country. Keeping the high demand and popularity in mind, it is suggested to book the train tickets two months prior to the journey in advance. This is done to derive a hassle free train long distance tour without any uncertainty.

Presently, the travel options of a regular train tour are distinguished between many classes of travel. Different types of train carry different classes of carriages throughout the course of the journey. The basic range of travelling for tourists starts with the first class a/c. This is the most plush and comfortable seating to be utilized during the regular train journey. The highest luxury class in the regular routes, it consists of two-tier bunks in two- or four-person private compartments which can be locked; offering privacy and comfort to the travellers. The carpeted compartments with relatively presentable bathrooms also assure travellers of a timely assistance by the attendants (aboard superfast trains like Duronto and Rajdhani.) The fares for first class journey may be higher than the regular train fares but assure the travellers the maximum comfort on a train. This is certainly the safest way to a secured and private train journey. But if you want to have a regular train journey to interact with others, then second class ac (two-tier) and third class ac (three-tier) coaches are meant for you. Third class ac is preferred by masses. 

The he importance of the berths and coaches is very important in rail tour. They not just accommodate the travellers during their journey but also make sure they have a comfortable time. Before choosing the train tour to India, we suggest the tourists to consider the seating class of the train to secure the best and comfortable railway journey to remember for a lifetime. 

Luxury Trains – A Unique Offering of India Rail Tours

If you think that India rail tours are just about economy and value, then you have just seen one facet of the country’s railways. There is another side to Indian railways that values extravagance, care, comfort and royalty in the most lavish way. Famous as the luxury trains, this concept offers wholesome holidays on the package itinerary. This ways, the train is not just the mode of transportation, but also offers a comprehensive travel experiences inclusive of hospitality, accommodations and finest stays.

Based on the concept of Indian royalty, the railways here offer 11 packaged holidays on luxury tourist trains equipped with world class amenities. The first in the series is the Palace on Wheels. The oldest of the luxury trains in India, this is the railway that settled the impeccable and ultimate royal standards of these special trains in the country. The train in its beginning utilized luxurious heritage carriages of ex-maharajas’. This was done to inculcate the authentic royal essence to the journey through the regal cities of Rajasthan. This was the first step to resurrect the rich royal heritage of India. Later, the train received a makeover with the carriages updated into modern air-conditioned coaches, still utilizing the original design.

Other regions in the country followed the trend and initiated the special royal journeys in ultimate indulgence. The second train began its route in the form of Maharashtra’s Deccan Odyssey. This grand train is the tribute to the state’s warrior clan, Marathas and their royalty. Keeping up the same trend, this train projects itself to be a 5 star accommodation modeled of Maratha indulgence. The special train runs on the bestowed Konkan route and makes way for travellers to visit Maharashtra and Goa on the prestigious route.

The third train, the Golden Chariot is the south India’s only luxury train, covering the entire peninsula in its dream run. Inspired by the Hindu rulers who established a strong influence and resisted foreign entry to their territory, this train offers a tribute to the mighty dynasties of the region who contributed strongly to its cultural and historical wealth. In its offering, the train has two routes namely the Pride of South (Karnataka and Goa) and the Southern Splendour (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala) covering the entire region in its periphery.

The fourth luxury train, the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels is actually a modern interpretation of the Palace on Wheels. Trailing on the same heritage royal route of Rajasthan, this is actually a step ahead in terms of modern day hospitality and comforts suiting a discerning traveller.

The fifth and the last route to royalty, Maharajas Express is the most expensive train in the country. Leading the deck of all luxury trains, this offering presents the impeccable luxurious ways to travel over five unique itineraries. The Heritage of India celebrates historical legacy of the country with a visit to the caves of antiquity and forts and palaces of elegance. The Indian Panorama offers colourful glimpses of the rich heritage belonging to the forts, palaces, citadels and temples. The Indian splendour concentrates completely upon the legacy of Rajasthan and its range of forts and palaces. The Gems and Treasures of India highlight the heritage of the famous golden triangle route of the country traversing from Delhi, Ranthambore, Jaipur and Agra.

These holiday packages and itineraries present the best of rail tour experiences in India. Laced with the ultimate standards of indulgence, these luxury trains bring the best of the country to the traveller. 

Experience the best of itineraries through India Rail Tour

We all know the importance of trains during long distance travelling. In fact, it is the most popular mode of transportation preferred by masses. Keeping its popularity in mind, the people prefer to travel via train not just for homecoming, but also as a part of pilgrimage and leisure trips. India, being a diverse nation offers a great opportunity for travellers keen on exploring the country via trains.

For such passengers, these train tours act as a safe bet, offering people to travel safely for long distance. Another good thing about Indian trains is the facet that it connects almost every important tourist attraction of the country. This means travelling and discovery to India can be a convenient and joyous experience aboard the trains.

But this task demands proper planning on the behalf of a traveller to derive the best benefits of rail journey. Short-listing the direction as well as the destination is the first and the foremost step in planning a rail journey. Next step to it is securing the timely bookings as they also play an important role in creating a successful train tour itinerary. Train tickets from Indian Railways can be booked 60 days in advance, which gives enough time to plan the other requisites for the recreational tour. These include identifying the sightseeing and excursions around the destination as well as securing hotel bookings in advance.

Such planning helps travellers get the most out of the train journey and make it a truly wholesome experience. But the process needs astute judgment and decision making skills to scrutinize the right kind of accommodation and derive the most out of the journey.

For travellers who have no time for planning can rely on several tour operators who plan the India Train Tour itinerary from beginning, schedule the tickets and accommodation. They even guide the travellers on the must-visit attractions of the destination; thereby provide complete assistance in terms of itinerary planning.

India Rail Tour is one such comprehensive tour operator dealing in planning, organizing and executing successful train tours with exclusive train tour packages.