JAIPUR: This season holds great promise for train tourism in Rajasthan with one more heritage train, modelled after the immensely successful Palace on Wheels (PoW), starting its maiden journey on Friday evening from the Pink City. Named Heritage on Wheels (HoW), it is the second heritage train being run by the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) in collaboration with the Indian Railways.

Interestingly, the first trip of HoW coincides with the start of the Thar Express from Jodhpur late on Friday evening to cross the international border to reach Khokhrapar in Pakistan's Sindh province.

HoW, with nine saloons and a capacity of 72 berths, will run on metre gauge traversing the hitherto less marketed Shekhawati region and Bikaner in Rajasthan. Compared to PoW it is economical as for a journey of three nights and four days the charge would be 300 US dollars for a single person per night. For Indians it is Rs.12,500. In PoW a single night costs 535 US dollars.

The itinerary of the new-old locomotive includes Shekhawati towns of Nawalgarh, Ramgarh and Mandawa, known for their havelis with frescos dating back to 200 years and the Walled City of Bikaner. The package also contains trips to two wildlife sanctuaries— the Blackbuck sanctuary at Tal Chhapar in Churu district and Gajner sanctuary in Bikaner where once the legendary birdman, Salim Ali, watched Imperial Sand grouse.

"This is our second Palace on Wheels," claimed Vinod Zutshi, Commissioner Tourism, Rajasthan. In fact HoW is the reincarnation of the good old saloons of the Palace on Wheels, taken off the rails after the route on which it travelled was converted into broad gauge in 1995.

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