If things work out, India may soon see major domestic corporate houses operating their own luxury trains in the country. Presently, the Indian Railways is running the famous luxury train, the Palace on Wheels (POW) under a joint venture where it holds 49 per cent equity. As such, the promulgation of such a measure would be the country’s first and proposition for the initiative from the Oberoi Group, Rajasthan Tourism, renowned rail service Oriental Express and Cox & King is currently being contemplated by the Indian Railways.
Oberoi Group has planned to run a 7 star luxury train, whose tariff would be the double the rates charged by the Palace on Wheels. For this, the Oberois are said to be in talks with the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation in order to add it on into its team. If the proposal for these wholly private-run luxury trains gets a green signal, these trains will initially be made to run in the states of Kerala, West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra. At a later stage, these trains will be introduced to other regions of the country.
