The State government has accorded in-principle approval to operate the first Bharat Gaurav train of Karnataka. The Department of Religious Endowments has registered with South Western Railway (SWR) as a service provider by depositing the registration fee of ₹1 lakh under the scheme, an SWR release said.
“Bharat Gaurav trains are theme-based tourist circuit trains to showcase India’s rich cultural heritage and magnificent historical places to the people of India and the world. Under this policy, registered service providers shall be offered rakes consisting of ICF coaches under the ‘Right to Use’ model by Indian Railways (IR) for operations of Bharat Gaurav trains,” the release added.
Under the ‘Right to Use’ model, the service provider is free to decide the business model, including themes such as Ramayan circuit, Kashi Yatra, routes, itinerary, tariff, and other attributes. They can also refurbish the interiors of the coach based on the theme as well as utilise the coaches for advertisements and branding.
The service provider can own the rake (set of coaches forming the train) for a minimum of two years and up to the expiry of the residual period of the coaches. The actual running/operation of the train and the safety-related technical maintenance would be carried out by railway staff, the release explained.
“South Western Railway will facilitate planning and finalisation of the detailed proposal in a time-bound manner and alternative itinerary in case of congestion on rail routes requested by the service provider. The modalities pertaining to the route, fare, and the coach composition of the train will be worked out shortly,” the release added.
