IRCTC on a fast track
Buoyed by a good Railway Budget which includes new trains and services for the common man, Indian Railways is certainly moving in high speed.
Riding high on the newly announced trains and offers, Dr. A.K. Manocha, CMD, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), claims, “The Railway Minister is focused on capacity growth, which means more rooms, trains, and more length of trains, which doesn’t necessarily mean increased number of coaches, but also the haulage capacity that needs to be maintained. It also includes platform length, shelter, and the maintenance capacity. However, these are huge capacity investments.”
The completion of the `
2400 crore worth dedicated freight corridor is one of the biggest developments for IRCTC in 2016, says Manocha. He asserts that Internet ticketing as well as cancellation facility on 139 from home (even after the chart is prepared), will be improved. Besides, a multi-lingual software for reservation would also be launched, he adds.
Foreign tourists are important for the Railways, but business from them has not been as great, Manocha points out. “The numbers have slightly declined this year, because there was a lot of competition from airlines, which have become cheaper and are an option for many in emergencies as well. The same is true for short distances, as metro has come in at a lot of places,” he notes.
“Foreign tourists love to come to India. The biggest chunk is NRIs. The British are also fond of India, and there are Dutch, Portuguese, and Russians who also come in good numbers. Our tourist trains are 100 per cent safe. We will be launching ticketing trough IRCTC website for foreign card holders as well,” Manocha says.
Out of the new rail projects launched this year, Manocha is very upbeat about the Gatiman Express. “Gatiman Express is still to pick up. It’s a small train with only 12 coaches now. In time it would be double the length, and soon there will be high demand. In fact, looking at the interest in Agra, we have launched an Executive Lounge in Agra, which we would initially run ourselves and later give it to private players. It would have Wi-Fi, television, and other business facilities,” adds Manocha.
In another first, Manocha says the Railways will soon be launching glass top coaches in Srinagar in the next season, which will be very similar to the Swiss coaches. “Starting with two AC luxury coaches, we will offer a different ex- perience. We will also improve the Gatiman experience and will launch the super luxury Tejas,” he adds.
However, IRCTC is not just a railway ticket booking platform. One can book airline tickets as well as tour packages for both domestic and international visits. “We had launched 67 foreign packages last year and prior to that we had only one third of that number. Many people don’t know that we book around 2500-3000 air tickets every day. We are tying up with Air India and have joined hands with Pawan Hans and signed a MoU for a mutual share of services for passengers,” reveals Manocha.
When asked about the recent cancellation of the Palace on Wheels train for the first time in history, he says, “It is a luxury train and we are making strides. This year, however, the growth was slightly less in the tourism segment and it is not possible to run the train with occupancy less than 2025 per cent.”