A Rajdhani traveller can now get an add-on hotel reservation with the train ticket.
Talking on the sidelines of the 40th anniversary of the Howrah-Delhi Rajdhani Express, Deepak Krishnan, general manager, Eastern Railways(ER), said, "We are in talks with budget hotels like the Ginger chain from the Tata Group for a tie-up." As the service is likely to be popular, the Railways is looking at extending this facility to other end-stations on the Rajdhani route, as well. Krishnan did not divulge further details.
Besides, now the Howrah-Rajdhani route will also have wi-fi connectivity on the Delhi-Mughalsarai route. "The facility is likely to be inaugurated by the end of this year and is being implemented by Railways' own unit," Krishnan informed. He also added that there was demand for the Kolkata-Delhi Rajdhani Express to run between seven in the evening from Kolkata and reach Delhi by eight in the morning. While this was possible in terms of speed, there were other issues like level-crossing among others that reduced the train's speed and lengthened the journey. "In most places, the railway tracks are capable of handling a speed limit of up to 200 kilometre per hour(kmph)," Krishnan said.
The Rajdhani now operates at 120kmph. Indian Railways is planning to have four to five high speed corridors between cities like Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Delhi-Lucknow, Howrah-Haldia, Delhi-Patna-Howrah with trains operating at more than 250 kmph speed. This is part of the Rs 24,000 crore Integrated Railway Modernisation Plan 2005-2010.