Deccan Odyssey to change tracks

Come November, Deccan Odyssey, the super-luxury tourist train that till recently travelled within Maharashtra, will change track, cross state boundaries and chug along till Delhi via Rajasthan. The train’s extended journey will be under a new operator, Thomas Cook, with the Taj group taking care of on-board catering and some other related services. Interestingly, this tour of over eight days and seven nights in royal luxury coaches could cost one up to Rs 4.3 lakh. Till recently, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) ran the luxury train from Mumbai but covered tourist destinations only within the state. Thomas Cook, the new operator, has taken over to run the train for five years and its total investment in the project will be Rs 55 crore for the entire period of the lease, Sunit Suri, head-inbound travels, Thomas Cook, said. Under the new operators, over a journey spanning seven nights, Deccan Odyssey will travel from Mumbai to Delhi, via Aurangabad (for Ajanta and Ellora caves), Udaipur, Sawai Madhopur (for Ranthambore Tiger Reserve), Jaipur and Agra. The return journey too will be over seven nights, but with a new group of passengers boarding the train in Delhi.  For Thomas Cook, the Deccan Odyssey project is part of its larger plan to market India abroad, Suri said. To this end, the company has already chalked out plans to tap tourists from a particular region or country.