India's luxurious and oldest heritage train Palace on Wheels embarks on first journey

By Tanya Chugh
New Delhi [India], September 25 : India's luxurious and oldest heritage train 'Palace on Wheels' has embarked on its first journey for this tourism season from New Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station on Wednesday.
Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) Managing Director Sushma Arora, Executive Director Rajendra Singh Shekhawat, Managing Director of the private company operating the train, O&M, Bhagat Singh Lohagarh, and Director Pradeep Bohra flagged off the royal train.
For this year 32 passengers have set off on this Royal journey. The passengers included five each from the US and the UK, two each from Spain, Australia and Singapore, one each from Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Poland and 12 from India. The train can accommodate up to 82 passengers at a time.
RTDC's Managing Director Sushma Arora expressed her excitement and happiness as the train embarked on its first journey. She said, "It is a moment of happiness for all of us as 'Palace on Wheels,' which is the pride of Rajasthan, is ready to embark on its first journey for this tourist season. The train will reach its first destination Jaipur on Thursday morning, and then the tourist will leave for Sawai Madhopur.
She further added, "This train is the pride of Rajasthan and has a global image. It is a landmark crane and people from different parts of the world come to travel on this train. The infrastructure of the train has a touch of Rajasthani art and culture. This is a prestigious project for RTDC. The tourists will receive all the five-star facilities and amenities throughout the journey."
RTDC's executive Director Rajendra Singh Shekhawat after flagging off the train said, "This train has been running since 1982. Keeping in mind the hospitality of Rajasthan, the people are very happy and get immersed in the journey. Rajasthan is famous for mainly three things i.e. hospitality, welcome and respect. Every guest or tourist in Rajasthan is welcome with the feeling of Atithi Devo Bhava and the royal train also rides on this principle."
Managing director of the private company operating the train, O&M, Bhagat Singh Lohagarh told reporters about the design of the train and how it resembles the theme of Raj gharanas in Rajasthan. He said, "The renovation of the train differs from previous years, and people are really excited to embark on this journey. Every Raj Gharana of Rajasthan used to have their own theme and this has what been tried to keep in mind while designing the train. The restaurant has been designed keeping in the Sheesh Mahal in Amber."
The travellers on the train also expressed their happiness and excitement. They were excited to embark on this Royal journey.
One of the tourists from Chennai, Madana Gopal said, "I am looking forward to the journey and I am very excited to see the decor. I hope we have a good and pleasant experience. We would like to look to the hospitality of the train."
A couple Pooja and Ajay Joshi who are travelling on this train also expressed how this has been their dream for quite some time. Pooja Joshi said, " It was a dream, his dream actually and we thought of doing it this year." To this, Ajay Joshi also added, "It has been on our bucket list for a very long time and she was in India so I flew down here. We want to experience Royal treatment as well as the whole excursion."
The train will cover eight cities starting from Jaipur, Sawai Madhopur, Chittorgarh, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Bharatpur and Agra in Uttar Pradesh in just 7 days.
Palace on Wheels is India's first luxury and heritage train. It was launched 42 years ago in the year 1982 and was a joint initiative of Indian Railways and Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation. This super Luxury train has made an unparalleled contribution to elevating Rajasthan Tourism to new heights and has even made it popular overseas.