You can book the entire Heritage Steam Voyage,and other trains!
If you are looking to tour the Mettupalayam-Coonoor region with a large group, maybe for a wedding, a formal get-together or just a pleasure trip, the Indian Railways offers a vintage option. Rates for chartering the entire Heritage Steam Voyage, a weekend-special train between these two stations, have been slashed by Rs. 2L! You can actually book many other trains in entirety. Here's how.
All about the new Heritage Steam Voyage
The steam loco-hauled Heritage Steam Voyage of the Nilgiri Mountain Railways is a three-coach summer special train between Mettupalayam-Coonoor launched on March 31. To boost tourism, the Railways has decided to charter out the whole train on weekdays. It can even be booked till Ooty. The Full Tariff Rate (FTR) for booking the entire train was also slashed from Rs. 5L to Rs. 3L.
What do you get at Rs. 3L?
The two first-class and one second-class coaches can hold roughly 130 people, who will be served a welcome kit, a souvenir and refreshments on board. That's slightly over Rs. 2,300 per person for a journey on the train with fully refurbished original wooden coaches.
To book other trains, visit the IRCTC website and register
This facility has been available since before for journeys starting in the Western Railways division. For this, you have to visit the IRCTC website and register. Booking has to be done at least 100 days before the journey for minimum 18 coaches. Rs. 25,000 per coach has to be paid as security. After confirmation from Railways, you will have to pay the full amount.
Terms and conditions applied
This is subject to certain terms, including availability of trains. Security for coaches will be refunded after completion of journey. In case of cancellation, minimum Rs. 5,000 per coach will be charged, which can go up depending on how close to the journey you cancel. This facility isn't available for one-side journeys. You can contact the North Zone office (9717614600, 9717640700) for further details.
