Karnataka Golden Chariot to start its operation from March 22

The Karnataka Government-owned luxury tourist train Golden Chariot will resume its operations from March 22.

IRCTC, which will operate the train, has said three trips of Golden Chariot on “Pride of Karnataka” planned on March 22, 29 and April 12.

The 6 Nights/7 Days itinerary will commence from Yeshwantpur Railway Station in the morning shall visit Bandipur National Park, Mysore, Halebidu, Chikkamagalur, Hampi, Badami-Pattadakal-Aihole, Goa before returning to Bengaluru, said a statement from IRCTC.

Earlier the IRCTC had signed MOU with Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) to operate and market the train on revenue sharing model.

The IRCTC, which is already operating wide-ranging rail-based tourism products including Maharaja's Express luxury train, has refurbished the interior of the Golden Chariot train to the taste of international train travel enthusiasts.

The luxury train tour package cost is inclusive of all onboard meals and homemade beverages, guided excursions in air-conditioned buses, monument entry fee and meals at outside venues as per the itinerary.

For providing wholesome in-room entertainment, Smart TVs with variety of wifi enabled subscriptions including Netflix, Amazon, Hotstar etc have been installed in the train. CCTV Cameras and Fire Alarm System have been added for more safety, said the IRCTC.

Golden Chariot, which started its operation in 2008 aiming to cater the tourists on the model of Maharaha's Express in Rajasthan, was off the track since 2018 due to poor occupancy.