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Palace on Wheels begins first run of the season today

Special Correspondent

The exciting journey starts from Delhi with 75 passengers from 12 countries on board

JAIPUR: The prestigious luxury train "Palace on Wheels" will be back on the rails for the first run of the season as scheduled on Wednesday starting from Delhi. The heritage train, virtually the mascot of tourism in Rajasthan, run jointly by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation and Indian Railways, has overcome its problems -- at least temporarily -- after the management giving up a move to privatise certain services in it.

Till the other day uncertainty prevailed over the fate of the first trip of the train as the employees' unions, uneasy over the prospects of increased private participation in its running, had threatened to block its seven-day heritage trail. The union had approached the Rajasthan High Court also in this regard.

The tracks were cleared for the train this weekend when the meeting of the board of directors of RTDC decided to reject the lone proposal from the Taj Group of Hotels to run the catering and some other services in the train. The board, headed by the Rajasthan Tourism secretary Vinod Zutshi, reportedly found the proposal from the hotel group "unfeasible''.

Even while denying that the pressure from the union had anything to do with the decision not to take up the proposal on outsourcing the services, RTDC on the same day transferred 21 personnel of Palace on Wheels, along with 13 leaders of the union. The union once again went to court and got a reprieve. The court on its part expressed its displeasure over RTDC action when the matter was under consideration.

The wrangling is not likely to reduce excitement of the trip for 75 passengers from 12 countries who would be on board for the train's first trip. As such it has a capacity of 104 passengers and absence of full bookings was one reason attributed by RTDC for off loading a few of its staff from the current trip.

And it is going to get better for the train as the season progresses. Though in the second trip of the train, starting on September 14, only 96 bookings are there, thereafter for the whole season -- ending in April 2006 -- the fun train is fully booked.

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