Tourism body fails to flag off Royal Orient Train in time

The Gujarat government-owned Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd's (TCGL) plan to begin the Royal Orient Train (ROT) service has failed to meet the October deadline.

The project, in joint venture with the Indian Railways, was part of the state government's tourism promotion plan "" Vibrant Gujarat: Navratri 2004.

The train may not take off even after the completion of the broad gauge conversion works as the train is not ready yet.

The train is being manufactured at the railway coach factory near Chennai. "The ROT, which is off the rails for the past two year, is not expected to become operational soon due to delays by the railways in conversion of the metre gauge tracks into broad gauge in Saurashtra region of the state," said a tourism corporation official.

Sources in railways said, "The broad gauge conversion work in almost all parts of Saurashtra region is completed. The line between Vairaval-Somnath is also ready, which is expected to be inaugurated by Union railways minister Laloo Prasad Yadav on Monday."

According to government officials, "The state government failed to meet the deadline due to non-availability of the broad gauge tracks as well as the train was not ready."

The government had also failed to run the train during Vibrant Gujarat - Global Investors Summit 2003, in September last year.

The train, previously known as Palace on Wheels, was run by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation in association with Indian Railways between Delhi and various parts of Rajasthan.

Due to the conversion of the metre gauge rail tracks into broad gauge in Rajasthan, the train was handed over to TCGL in 1995.

TCGL has a 28 per cent stake in the venture and Indian Railways holds a 72 per cent share. Gujarat's tourism department is responsible for booking, service and maintenance of the train.

The ROT, used to run between Delhi via Rajasthan to various parts of Gujarat and comprised of 14 coaches and saloons, each with four cabins along with attached bathrooms.

The train achieved break-even in the fourth year of its operation, where as it took 12 years for Palace on Wheels to achieve the break-even, and in 2000, the profit from running ROT was Rs 17 lakh. State tourism department officials claim that the train would run profitably even if it runs on 25 per cent of its capacity, as payments are made in dollars.