Railways to convert 200 saloons into 10 tourist trains to be run by IRCTC

Conceived initially as inspection cars to be exclusively used by railway officials to visit far flung areas, these saloons comprise of two bedrooms, a lounge, a pantry, a toilet and a kitchen which are built to facilitate stay for up to five days.

Railways has decided to convert 200 saloons into 10 luxury tourist trains to be run by the IRCTC in a bid to regulate the use of the colonial era-style carriages and generate additional revenue for the national transporter, sources said on October 25.

Conceived initially as inspection cars to be exclusively used by railway officials to visit far flung areas, these saloons comprise of two bedrooms, a lounge, a pantry, a toilet and a kitchen which are built to facilitate stay for up to five days. “While a designated number of saloons will be kept for use of railway officials for inspection, 200 of them will be turned over to IRCTC and will be operated as tourist trains. Upon conversion, around ten such trains can be put into service for public use,” the source said.

Last year, amid concerns over misuse of these saloons by officials, Railway minister Piyush Goyal had given up the use of his own personal ones, calling them “trappings of a colonial mindset”. He had also urged zones to give up saloons for public use.

Sources said the Railway Board has prepared a set of instructions for its zones to “strictly regulate” the number and use of such saloons.

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