Karnataka’s luxury train ‘The Golden Chariot’ will have an elite group of passengers on board for the eight- day maiden voyage through Karnataka and Goa, which will be flagged off on Monday. About 85 passengers will get first-hand experience of the luxury train for the very first time.
The passenger list on the maiden journey will include celebrities from Kanataka, to sports stars to actresses. “We want them to get a taste of the product and destination,” said a tourism official. A media team and paid passengers who are foreigners - British and American visitors - will also be on board.
This will be the first journey to include paid passengers. While the on-board activities are complete, off board activities are close to the complete product, he said.
For the paid passengers, off board activities will start at Bangalore on Monday. From the airport, they will be taken to lunch and then shopping and sightseeing in the city. All passengers will board the train in Yeshwanthpur at 9 pm. For the off-board activities from Mysore, all the passengers will participate, said the official.
The journey, which is for eight days and seven nights, will start in Bangalore and cover the Mysore - Kabini - Hassan - Belur - Shravanbelagola - Hampi - Aihole and Pattadakal - Badami - Goa route, before heading back to Bangalore.
According to sources, the Golden Chariot has received a greater response in terms of bookings for the initial months, when compared to that of its competitors. The response has been mostly from the foreign market, according to the
official.