Title - KTDC plans tourist bogie in Island Express

Thiruvananthapuram: Taking a cue from the much successful ‘Palace on Wheels’, the KTDC is looking at introducing a tourist bogie in the Bangalore–Kanyakumari Island Express. The idea is to provide a comfortable travel and sightseeing experience to tourists visiting the state. N Prashanth, managing director, KTDC said the tourist bogie will be exclusively for visitors who have booked KTDC hotel and sightseeing packages to Kerala. “I will be visiting Jaipur to understand the operational logistics of Palace on Wheels. KTDC wants to introduce a seamless travel experience with in-house guest relations, and when it comes to food, luxury, and on-board entertainment, we will try emulating the flight experience,” he said.
    But unlike Rajasthan, the length and breadth of Kerala can be traversed in less than 24 hours—Island Express departs from Bangalore at 09:40 pm and reaches Kanyakumari at 07:00 pm the following day—so the KTDC is looking to enhance the journey with link-ups to other trains.
    “The logistics will have to be worked out. We could detach a bogie and link it with another train so visitors could halt and travel at leisure,” he said. The KTDC is currently working on designing the interior of the coach. The windows are likely to be bigger and the usual 60 berths would be reduced to half to create more space and give tourists a sense of privacy.
    “I am sure there will be many takers for the tourist bogie especially as air fares have hit the roof and Kerala has one of the most alluring scenic vistas,” said Prashant.
    In addition to the tourist bogie, visitors lounge for tourists will be set up at three railway stations—Ernakulam Junction, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. The bogie will be ready by the next tourist season, said a tourism department official.