The Indian Railways might be all gung ho about Gatimaan Express — the fastest train in the country — but it is yet to find passengers. The train, to be launched on Tuesday, will be running almost empty for the entire next week but experts feel it will soon become popular with tourists.
The inaugural run of Gatimaan Express is slated to begin from the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station of Delhi at 10 a.m. and reach Agra Cantt. railway station at 11.40 a.m. With a top permissible speed of 160 kmph, it is faster than the Bhopal Shatabdi, which has a top speed of 150 kmph. It will, however, take only 17 minutes less than Bhopal Shatabdi.
The train has two executive AC chair car coaches with 100 seats and eight AC Chair Car coaches with 593 seats on offer. For the inaugural run, however, only 302 AC chair car seats were booked till late on Monday, while 38 executive chair car seats were booked.
While less bookings on a Tuesday can be understandable, the train looks even more forlorn during the otherwise busy weekend. For April 9, a Saturday, only 86 of the chair car seats and 14 executive chair car seats have been booked.
On the other hand, all seats of Bhopal Shatabdi for the same date are completely booked with passengers on waiting list.
The launch of the Gatimaan Express has been delayed by about two years and many trial runs. The booking for the train began only on April 2, which could be a major reason for it not becoming so popular.
Railways, however, believes that the train would soon become a rage thanks not only to its speed but also the state-of-the-art facilities on offer. “The train has just been introduced and people will soon get to know about it and it will be particularly very popular with foreign tourists,” said Neeraj Sharma, Chief PRO, Northern Railways.
He said that most people reserve seats in advance and that might explain the empty seats.
“Gatimaan Express will provide a very different experience with its improved services, the multi-cuisine menu, and train hostesses,” he said.
“It’s a new train and has not been advertised properly but give it some time and it will be a huge hit with foreign tourists. The train offers everything that any discerning passenger would prefer from its timing to the comforts and cuisine,” said Rajji Rai, former president, Travel Agents Association of India.
“It is a great innovation and should get all the support from the Railway Ministry and Tourism Ministry,” he said.
“With all new trains, the popularity picks up much later and Gatimaan’s booking started only on Saturday. Also, people would prefer Bhopal Shatabdi more because it leaves early and tourists would have more time on their hands, particularly during summer” said Shashanka Nanda, member, Indian Railways Fan Club Association.
“The Delhi-Jaipur double-decker train still runs with less than full occupancy nearly two years after its launch,” he said.
