Railways to run additional trips of "Fairy Queen"

Fairy Queen.

The Indian Railways will run six additional trips of the well-known tourist train "Fairy Queen" between Delhi and Alwar in Rajasthan between now and the end of June to cope with the huge public demand, an official press release said here today.

The dates of the extra trips are: April 17, May 1, May 15, May 29, June 12 and June 26, the release said.

The train will depart from Delhi Cantonment at 0900 hours and reach Alwar at 1500 hours. On the return journey, it will leave Alwar at 1300 hours and arrive in Delhi Cantonment at 1845 hours.

The Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation is offering a comprehensive two-day package that includes on-ground catering, lodging, boarding, transfer facilities, visit to the Sariska National Park and cultural programmes. The tourists will be lodged for the night in Hotel Tiger Den at Sariska.

The onboard catering in both directions, which would be equivalent to the standard of catering provided to passengers of AC I of Rajdhani or Executive Class of Shatabdi Express, including welcome drink, snacks, tea, coffee, lunch and so on, will be managed by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

According to the release, tickets for the train were available at the National Rail Museum and at the International Tourist Bureau located in the New Delhi Railway Station. Tickets can also be booked on railtourismindia.com.

The tickets for the full package are priced at Rs 10,200 for an adult and Rs 5,100 for a child. Passengers can also buy a one-way train journey between Delhi and Alwar and sightseeing/stay at Sariska for Rs 7100 for an adult and Rs 3050 for a child and a one-way train journey between Delhi and Alwar only for Rs 3200 for an adult and Rs 1600 for a child.

The steam engine of the majestic Fairy Queen rolled out for the erstwhile East Indian Railways in 1855. After 19808, it rolled out again for the first time on February 1, 1997 from Delhi to Alwar after a complete overhaul at the Perambur workshop of Southern Railway.

The engine is the oldest working locomotive in the world and finds a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The train has a 60-seater air-conditioned chair car specially designed with a large glass window from where passengers can have a frontal view of the locomotive. There is also a well-maintained pantry car for on-board catering.

The train has a lounge in the front which provides a scenic view of the countryside. As part of the package, the tourists are treated to a cultural programme at Sariska.

NNN