In
terms of Budget Announcement 2016-17, Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu today
flagged off the inaugural run of the Tiger Trail Circuit Train from Delhi
Safdarjung Station. Shri Suresh Prabhu who was on tour to Mumbai, flagged off
this train through video conferencing between Mumbai and Delhi.
Several
dignitaries were present on this occasion at both the ends of this remote
flagging off programme. At Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station end Dr. Harsh
Vardhan, Union Minister of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences, Smt.
Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha), Janardhan Dwivedi, Member of
Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and Shri Karan Singh Tanwar, Vice-Chairman NDMC were
the distinguished guests present on the occasion. Railway officials present at
the Safdarjung Station were Member Traffic, Railway Board, Shri Mohammad
Jamshed, Member Staff, Shri Pradeep Kumar, Member Mechanical, Shri Hemant
Kumar, Member Electrical, Shri A.K. Kapoor, Finance Commissioner Railways, Shri
S. Mukherjee,General Manager, Northern Railway, Shri A.K. Puthia and Divisional
Railway Manager, Delhi, Shri Arun Arora and Other Senior Officers of Railway
Board and Northern Railway.
The launch of this Tiger
Express on World Environment Day is to highlight the significance of
environment in our lives. The Railway Minister took personal interest in
conceptualizing this train. This tourist train will be operated by Indian
Railway PSU namely Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
The train with 5 days/6
nights itinerary will start from Delhi Sufdarjung railway station and travel
via Katani, Jabalpur, Bandhavgadh, Kanha. The semi-luxury train will take the guests onboard to
the world famous Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks in Madhya Pradesh. In
addition the trip will also take tourists to Dhuadhar Waterfall in Bedhaghat
near Jabalpur.
Speaking on the occasion, the Railway Minister Shri
Suresh Prabhu said that Indian Railways is fully committed to address
environmental issues. Shri Suresh Prabhu pointed out that, he on assuming
charge took the initiative of creating a separate, dedicated Environment
Directorate in the Ministry of Railways. He said that the Railway Ministry is
taking several measures with view to be more environmental friendly. Referring
to the Tiger Express which was launched today Shri Suresh Prabhu said that
tiger is at the apex of the food chain which has tremendous ecological impact
and hence it is befitting to launch a train focused on this subject. Shri
Suresh Prabhu announced that Indian Railways through its PSU IRCTC will launch
more tourist circuit trains like elephant circuit, desert circuit etc.
Salient features of the Tiger Express:
The launch of the ‘Tiger Express’ is in tune with the
announcement in this regard in the Railway Budget 2016-17. The objective of the
train is to create awareness about our national animal, the Tiger.
The ‘Tiger Express’ is one of the most innovative
tourism products ever launched by Indian Railways.
The Indian Tiger has always allured tourists from both
India and abroad. The semi-luxury train will take the guests onboard to the
world famous Bandhavgarh and Kanha National Parks in Madhya Pradesh.
The Kanha National Park is known for the presence of
tigers, Swamp Deer, and the Barasingha. It is also recognized as the source of
inspiration for the famous writer Rudyard Kipling for his famous novel, “The
Jungle Book”.
The Bandhavgarh National Park is known for its biodiversity. The density of the tiger population at Bandhavgarh is one of the highest
known in India. The park has a large breeding population of leopards and various species of deer.
The 5 days / 6 nights itinerary of the Tiger Express
includes three Tiger Safaris, and it gives ample opportunity to the tourists to
have a sight of the majestic wild cats in their natural environs and a
spectacular view of the wildlife.
The 5th June, 2016 trip of the Tiger
Express is the inaugural run of this train. Regular Monthly trips of the fully
air-conditioned train, which has been vinyl-wrapped with motifs of the
wildlife, are to begin from October, 2016 onwards.
The most important objective of the train is to create
and spread awareness about the wildlife in general and the tiger in particular.
An added attraction of the trip is a visit to the famous Dhuadhar Falls in
Bhedaghat, Jabalpur.
IRCTC has been designated to execute the entire
itinerary. They have been efficiently conducting a variety of tour programmes
like the ‘Desert Circuit’ in Rajasthan and the ‘Heritage Circuit’ in North
India. This is for the first time that Indian Railways have forayed into the
exciting and fascinating wildlife tourism.
The itinerary has been chalked out in a manner that
the guests not only enjoy a comfortable travel but also spend considerable time
of the trip in the midst of Nature. The
package includes journey by the exclusive semi luxury air conditioned train,
accommodation in air-conditioned rooms of three star equivalent hotels for
three nights (one night in Bandhavgarh and two nights in Kanha in Mogli
Resorts), sightseeing and road transportation by AC vehicles, buffet meals,
game safaris, inter-city transfers and travel insurance.
This is also the first semi-luxury train on a tourist
circuit having a dining car. The objective behind it is to facilitate frequent
interactions among travellers during the travel. No other semi-luxury train is
equipped with a dining car.
Fare Structure:
The itinerary has a tariff structure starting from Rs 38,500.
For travelling in 1AC, tariff has been fixed at Rs 49,500 for single occupancy,
Rs 45,500 for double occupancy, Rs 44,900 for triple occupancy and Rs 39,500
for child with bed (5-11 years).
The
fares for those travelling in AC 2-tier is Rs 43,500 for single occupancy, Rs
39,000 for double occupancy, Rs 38,500 for triple occupancy and Rs 33,500 for
child with bed (5-11 years).
However,
these rates are valid for Indian citizens only. An additional surcharge of Rs.
4,000 per person will be charged from foreigners for the Safari booking at
Bandhagarh and Kanha.
Itinerary:
|
Day
(Days)
|
From - To
(Arr. - Dep.)
|
Remarks
|
|
Day
1
(Sunday)
|
Delhi
Safdarjung - ***
(*** - 15:00 hrs)
|
Departure
from Delhi's Safdarjung Railway Station at 1500 hrs. Dinner & Overnight
on board.
|
|
Day
2
(Monday)
|
Katni
(05:40
hrs )
|
 Arrive Katni Railway Station @ 0540 hrs. Breakfast
on board, proceed for Bandhavgarh for hotel check in & lunch. Later
proceed for evening safari (Khitauli Zone). Dinner & overnight at
Bandhavgarh Hotel.
|
|
Day
3
(Tuesday)
|
Bandhavgarh
- Kanha
(*** - 11:00 hrs)
|
Proceed
for Kanha. Check in & lunch at Hotel. Later proceed for evening safari
(Mukki Zone). Dinner & overnight at Hotel.
|
|
Day
4
(Wednesday)
|
Kanha
|
 Morning safari (Mukki Zone) in Kanha late morning
Breakfast. Lunch at Hotel. Evening time for leisure. Dinner & overnight
at Hotel.
|
|
Day
5
(Thursday)
|
Kanha
- Jabalpur
(***** - 22:05 hrs)
|
After
Breakfast proceed for Jabalpur (135 Kms Approx). Lunch at Hotel in Jabalpur.
Proceed for Dhuadhar Waterfall in Bedhaghat. High Tea in the evening before
proceeding to Train Station. Dinner & overnight on board.
|
|
Day
6
(Friday)
|
****
- Delhi Safdarjung
(15:50 hrs )
|
Breakfast
and Lunch on board. Arrive at Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station by 1550 hrs.
Tour Ends with Happy Memories.
|
Route of Tiger Express:
Booking Information:
The Online Booking of this train can be done on IRCTC
Tourism Portal- www.irctctourism.com or tourism@irctc.com. For further information, one may dial toll-free number
1800110139 or 9717645648, 971764718, 9717640219, 9717644085, 9717645625.
*****
AKS/KM/UD
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