Golden Chariot, a premium tourist special train that arrived at Harbour Terminus railway station in Kochi on Thursday with 20 guests, left for Kottayam on Friday, for them to take a boat ride in the Kumarakom backwaters.
The train’s arrival was a welcome break for the heritage station that was renovated but was idling for years together due to lack of electrified tracks. There were concerns of overhead power lines posing safety threat to aircraft that took off from the adjacent Naval Airport.
Operated by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), this is the first time the train that used to often times call destinations in Kerala every year, arrived here following the pandemic. Out here, the guests checked out heritage tourism locales in Fort Kochi and Mattancherry and witnessed a cultural performance.
The coaches of the train are named after the dynasties that once ruled southern India. Each coach has four cabins, including one for differently abled people.
In the six-day ‘Jewels of South’ tour package, the train that began from Bengaluru covered locales such as Mysuru, Hampi – Mahabalipuram, Thanjavur/Chettinad, and Kochi, before leaving for Kumarakom. It will return to Bengaluru from there.
