The Deccan Odyssey Luxury tourist Train is one of the famous 4 royal trains in the country and the prestigious project of the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, The Train is very popular globally , post Pandemic the train has undergoes major refurbishment and its now rejuvenated and ready to run in its new form. It will be inaugurated on September 21, 2023 under the chairmanship of Hon. Assembly Speaker Dr. Rahul Narvekar and at the hands of Hon. Tourism Minister Girish Mahajan and in the presence of Hon. School Education and Marathi Language Minister Deepak Kesarkar, Principal Secretary Radhika Rastogi (Tourism), Managing Director . Shraddha Joshi (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) and officials of Indian Railway Department will also be present.
Following is brief information about the Deccan Odyssey train which gives Maharashtra a unique identity.
Introduction:
Deccan Odyssey luxury train was built in the year 2003 at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, after getting the approval of the Central and State Governments for the Deccan Odyssey project. In the year 2004, the then Hon. Prime Minister Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji inaugurated the Deccan Odyssey train and flagged off the train.
The main objective of the Deccan Odyssey luxury train was to introduce the tourist destinations of Maharashtra to the national and international tourists in a delightful way and also to promote the tourist destinations, cultural art-splendours and food cultures of Maharashtra. In this train, MTDC has provided world class interior facilities and services for the tourists.
2004-2020 Deccan Odyssey luxury train received a huge response. But due to the corona epidemic in the year 2020-21, the service of Deccan Odyssey was also stopped like other railways.
Travelers to the Deccan are mainly foreign tourists. Foreign tourists could not come to India due to the suspension of international flights for several days. Now the tourism sector has revitalized and from 21st September 2023 MTDC is all set to resume the Deccan Odyssey train operations. For this MTDC has carefully appointed an operator to look after this enter project on turnkey basis. 40 % tours in Maharashtra mandatorily and then covers other premium tourist destinations PAN India.
Organized Tours for the year 2023-24:
• Maharashtra Splendor : Mumbai (CST) – Nashik – Ellora Cave – Ajantha Cave – Kolhapur –Goa – Sindhudurg – Mumbai
• Indian Sojan : Mumbai (CST) – Vadodara – Udaipur – Jodhpur – Sawai Madhopur – Agra –Jaipur – Delhi.
• Indian Odyssey : New Delhi – Samvaimadhopur – Agra – Jaipur – Udaipur – Vadodara – Ellora Caves – Mumbai.
• Heritage Odyssey : New Delhi – Agra – Jaipur – Sawai Madhopur – Udaipur – Jaisalmer – Jodhpur – New Delhi.
• Culture Odyssey : New Delhi – Samvaimadhopur – Jaipur – Agra – Gwalior – Khajuraho –Varanasi – New Delhi.
• Maharashtra Wild Trail : Mumbai (CST) – Ellora Caves – Ch. Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad) – Pench(Ramtech)–Tadoba – Ajantha Cave–Nashik Mumbai.
Awards:`
- 2010-2012 World Travel Awards – Asia’s Leading Luxury Train Award.
- 2014 World Travel Awards – Asia’s Leading Luxury Train Award.
- 2015 North India Travel Awards – Best Luxury Train Awards in India.
- 2015 World Travel Awards – Asia’s Leading Luxury Train Award.
- 2016 World Travel Awards – Asia’s Leading Luxury Train Award.
- 2016 TTJ Jury’s Choice Awards – Award for Excellence in Innovation.
- 2017 World Travel Awards – Asia’s Leading Luxury Train Award.
- 2017 Travel & Lifestyle Awards by Lonely Planet – Best Travel Experience Award.
- 2019 World Travel Awards – Asia’s Leading Luxury Train Award.
Onboard facilities
- Beside ,Deccan Odyssey provides intercom, wifi facilities throughout the train, music system, furniture, bed, air conditioning system to give the tourist a royal experience befitting the glorious tradition of Maharashtra while sightseeing in Maharashtra.
- This train has a total of 21 coaches with 04 deluxe cabins each in 10 coaches and 02 presidential suites each in other two coaches.
- To make a special mention the other coaches includes 01 coaches are equipped for conference house, 02 coaches for dining room, 01 coaches for health spa, 01 coaches for bar, 02 coaches for staff quarters and remaining 02 coaches for generator cars and storage houses. Such types of various amenities are available in the train to make this train feel like a ‘five-star hotel on wheels’ rather than a luxurious train.
Renovation :
Following are the details of the renovations that have been done to make the trip more comfortable:
- A fire extinguisher is installed in each coach.
- Induction has been installed in Pantry Car instead of LPG Gas.
- Vinyl surface has been given on the roofs in the year 2018 to keep the indoor AC performance good.
- In the year 2017-18, the old Conventional Trollies were replaced with the new Air Suspension Trollies. In the old style Trollies, the Coaches used to move a lot in the moving train, now it is very comfortable due to the new Air Suspension Trollies.
- Gangway of all coaches has been changed so that moving from one coach to another coach is very convenient.
- Flooring of all coaches has been replaced. Also, the membranes have been treated with a special type of chemical.
- Previously, the dirt of the toilets of all the coaches was being decomposed in the railway station area as there were no Bio Tanks. But now the toilets of all the coaches have been installed with Bio Tanks. In this regard, Tanks have been certified by RDSO Lucknow of Railways and installed.
Responsible Tourism – Deccan Odyssey:
- The waste generated during the train journey is reduced and properly disposed of. Care is taken that minimal amount of plastic waste will be generated during the said journey.
- No artificial colors, ajinomoto, preservatives and additives etc are used in the preparation of food.
- Attempts are being made to use electric engines in the said train.
- Glass bottles have been made available instead of plastic bottles.
- Fireproof sets are available in the canteen.
- Electric induction has been used in the restaurant instead of LPG.
- Train travel is more environmentally friendly than air travel. Carbon foot print calculators are available in coaches. Train travel emits less carbon. One finding is that air travel emits 246/g/km of carbon. Comparatively, train travel emits 35/g/km of carbon.
MTDC Deccan Odyssey Train – 2.0 : New Look….New Path…New Beginning!
