K'taka Muzrai Dept registers for state's first Bharat Gaurav train

The Government of Karnataka has accorded in-principle approval to operate the first Bharat Gaurav train of Karnataka. The Department of Religious Endowments, Govt of Karnataka has registered with South Western Railway as a Service Provider, by depositing the registration fee of Rs. 1 lakh under this scheme.

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 ‘Right to Use’ model by Indian Railways (IR) for operations of Bharat Gaurav Trains.

Under the ‘Right to Use’ model, the Service Provider is free to decide the business model including themes (eg. Ramayan circuit, Kashi Yatra etc,.) routes, itinerary, tariff and other attributes connected with this model. They can also refurbish the interiors of the coach based o­n the theme as well as utilise the coaches for advertisements and branding (Both interior and exterior, including by third-party).

The service provider can own the rake (set of coaches forming the train) for a minimum of two years and upto 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.

South Western Railway will facilitate Planning and finalization of the detailed proposal (coach configuration, itinerary, stoppages etc) 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.