Indian Maharaja Train
"India Maharaja" the most luxurious and expensive train service in India, seeking to attract well-heeled foreign rail enthusiasts prepared to pay the minimum 800-dollars-a-night price tag.
The specially built new train accommodates just 84 passengers, has suites with private bathrooms and plasma televisions, two restaurants serving Indian and Western food, a bar, card tables and an observation lounge.
"It's travel like royalty. You get treated like a king, that's the whole idea," said, promoter Thomas Thottathil.
For most visitors, rail travel in India is an indispensable part of any holiday, although an ability to overlook the often filthy toilets and deal with basic comfort and crowded carriages is required.
The new Express joins a fleet of other luxury trains plying India's railway network, including the Deccan Odyssey in western Maharashtra, the Palace on Wheels in Rajasthan and the Golden Chariot in southern Karnataka.
India's vast railway system, a legacy of British colonial rule, carries 18.5 million passengers every day in varying degrees of comfort -- a basic ticket on a 24-hour journey from Kolkata to Delhi can cost as little as 10 US dollars.
The advantage of the new service, say its promoters, is that the Maharajas' Express will travel throughout India, whereas the other services are restricted to individual states.
The venture is a public-private partnership between the state-run Indian railways and Indian travel group Cox & Kings, with total investment estimated at 600 million rupees (13 million dollars).