India's first private train, under the Bharat Gaurav Scheme, started its maiden service from Coimbatore North Station of Tamil Nadu to Sainagar Shirdi of Maharashtra, on Tuesday, June 14, at 6 pm. This train will reach Shirdi on Thursday, June 16 at 07.25 am. This train will return to Coimbatore on Sunday, June 19.
"Promoting India's rich cultural heritage" the Ministry of Railways tweeted some photos on its Twitter handle while announcing the maiden journey of this train. It tweeted "Southern Railway becomes the first zone to get its first Registered service provider under the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ Scheme & commence operations of the maiden service from Coimbatore North to Sainagar Shirdi (sic)."
Promoting India's rich cultural heritage!
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) June 14, 2022
Southern Railway becomes the first zone to get its first Registered service provider under the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ Scheme & commence operations of the maiden service from Coimbatore North to Sainagar Shirdi, today. pic.twitter.com/7cPSj9iP8i
Here are a few things to know about India’s first private train:
> This private train is being operated by a firm named South Star Rail. The train will be maintained by housekeeping service providers, who will clean the utility areas during frequent intervals and the caterers are experienced in preparing a traditional vegetarian menu, an official release said.
> According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), South Star Rail is a Coimbatore-based registered service provider and a part of the Future Gaming & Hotel Services Pvt. Limited. This company had earlier been known as Martin Lottery Agencies Limited. The company was under the scanner in 2019 after searches were conducted by the Income Tax Department on the properties of its Chairman, Martin Santiago. This was not even the first time that Martin, who has also maintained close ties to political leaders in Tamil Nadu caught the attention of law enforcement officials. Read TNM’s earlier story below.
However, speaking to TNM, Ravi, the project head of South Star Rail said that this train service is registered under M and C Property Private Limited, a different entity and stated that South Star Rail is not run by Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd.
> This train will stop at Tirupur, Erode, Salem, Yelahanka, Dharmavaram, Mantralayam and Wadi. Onwards to Shirdi, train will stop at Mantralayam for five hours long, to facilitate the darshan of the famous temple in the town.
> According to an official release, the rates are on par with regular train ticket rates charged by Indian Railways and provide exclusive VIP Darshan at Shirdi Sai Baba Temple.
>The fares to utilise this train come at two different rates. Tourists can opt for either train ticket fare or package. Ticket charges for the sleeper, third class AC, second class AC, and first class AC are Rs 2500, Rs 5000, Rs 7000, and Rs 10,000 respectively. The package fare is about Rs 4,999, Rs 7,999, Rs 9,999 and Rs 12,999 respectively. Tourists who opt for the package fare can utilise offers like transportation from Coimbatore to Shirdi and back, VIP darshan, bus arrangement, air-conditioned accommodation for three members, facilitation by the tour guide, and travel insurance.
> There will be a Train Captain, a doctor, private security personnel, along with the Railway Police Force on board. Electricians, AC mechanics and fire and safety officers are also deployed onboard.
> The smoke-free coaches have high bass speakers and a Radio Jockey on board to play devotional songs, spiritual stories, and live interviews.
> Theme-based Bharat Gaurav scheme was launched by the Indian Railways in November 2021 and it aims to let the people from India and foreign countries explore India's rich cultural heritage and historical places. As per the Bharat Gaurav scheme of the Union government, private players can lease trains for two years from the Indian Railways for a theme-based tourism circuit and the routes of the trains can be decided by the operators.
> South Star Rail has paid Rs. 1 crore as the security deposit to Southern Railways for the rake with a composition of 20 coaches. It has one 1A coach, three 2A coaches, eight 3A coaches, and five Sleeper coaches, two luggage-cum-brake cars with one pantry car.
> "Southern Railways would get a total fixed revenue of Rs. 3.34 crore per annum, i.e., an annual right to use charges of Rs. 27.79 lakh (excl GST) and Rs. 3.07 crore towards fixed haulage charges. In addition, variable haulage charge of Rs. 38.22 lakh (excluding GST) for the five day trip from Coimbatore to Sainagar, Shirdi and back will accrue to Southern Railway. Similar variable charges will be collected for every trip depending upon the itinerary," the PIB release stated.
The move to run private trains in India also saw some opposition from certain groups in Tamil Nadu.
Speaking to The News Minute, Ramakrishnan, General Secretary of the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) said, “The BJP says they work towards the welfare of Hindus but they let the train services and temples be operated by private players. The ticket fares are exorbitant. Common people can never utilise these services. Travelers from villages and the middle class would never be able to access the train services if the privatisation continues in the future. Privatising the train routes also risks the benefits of entry-level government employees in Indian Railways."
The TPDK staged a protest in Coimbatore railway station along with other railway union members. Southern Railway Mazdoor Union (SMRU) members also staged protests against private train services in Coimbatore, Madurai, Bommidi, and Thiruppathur railway stations. Despite the protests, around 1100 passengers boarded the maiden trip to Shirdi from Coimbatore.