High-end travellers looking to tour India in style will soon be able to take the Maharajas’ Express, a luxury rail service offering private cabins, air-cushioned suspension and fine-dining restaurants.
Operated by Royale Indian Rail Tours Ltd, The Maharajas’ Express is set to launch in January 2010, and offers the opportunity for premium travel in a country that is more synonymous with overcrowded trains and sporadic infrastructure.
Accommodation is offered across a range of cabin classes including 20 Deluxe Suites, 18 Junior Suites, and four main Suites, as well as a Grand Presidential Suite which spans an entire carriage. All cabins have one theme in common – unbridled luxury. Each will feature large panoramic windows, individual temperature controls, satellite surveillance, air-cushioned suspension and other hi-tech facilities, including large LCD TVs, DVD players and new generation, environmentally friendly washrooms.
The Standard Deluxe Cabin has been unveiled as “the world’s most spacious rail cabin in its category” at 9’5” x 7’9” with a bathroom measuring 7’9” x 4’9”.
Public areas include an observation carriage complete with bar, games table and club armchairs, and two fine-dining restaurants, each seating 42 people.
Travelling across four state borders, the Maharajas’ Express is dubbed "the first Pan-India luxury train", offering four itineraries. The eight night, seven-day ‘Princely India’ package takes in sights from Mumbai to Dehli, whilst the six-night ‘Classical India’ itinerary encompasses the journey from Dehli to Kolkata.
Prices start at $800 per person per day based on two sharing a Deluxe Cabin, and rise to $2500 for the Grand Presidential Suite.
For more information visit rirtl.com.
Report by Steven Currie
