KOZHIKODE: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) tour packages are becoming popular among the Kerala travellers, especially families and the elderly who prefer to travel in the train. The international tour packages initiated last year to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sri Lanka attracted over 600 passengers and they are planning more destinations this year.
According to the IRCTC office in Kochi, over 4,200 travellers used the train packages last year. “The Bharat Darshan package is more popular among the elderly people, who consider the trip more like a pilgrimage. Especially, when the tour days are more than 15 days, the working people cannot afford to take leave for so many days. They prefer the holiday packages,” said an official.
Among the vacation packages, the popular ones are to Agra, Amritsar, Wagah border, Delhi, Jaipur and Kolkata. The package includes train ticket, local transport, food and accommodation. It costs around Rs 800 per head daily, inclusive of taxes in the train package. The public opt for IRCTC mainly out of security, as it is a government organisation.
“While we go by the common trains to other states, especially in the North, we might have to face many issues like unruly behaviour of the passengers. We did not have any such issues this time, when we went to places like Amritsar, Jammu and Kashmir with family on the IRCTC package tour. The dormitories they provide are also safe,” said Sajiv Kumar, a businessman based in Kozhikode who travelled with his family using the vacation package.
