Indore: Amidst a low profile event, the Mhow- Kalakund heritage train was flagged-off on Tuesday. To the surprise of the railway officials, the first day first show of the train was not only jam packed, but also a large number of tourists who had came to Mhow station with an anticipation to be the part of historical journey had to return empty hand as they failed to get ticket of maiden journey.
The train guard showed green flag, on which the people present at Mhow station greeted him and other members of railway staff. Indore- Mhow rail yatri sangh office bearers extended the vote of thanks to the DRM RN Sunkar for his tedious efforts in making the dream of heritage train come true. Both the chair cars and general compartments were jam packed on the very first day. 48 seats of the chair car and 80 seats of the general compartment were booked.
As per the railway sources, when all seats were booked and the people left in the queue were told about it, there was a minor scuffle between them and the railway staff, on which local police was called for getting the matter settled. In both the chair cars, big LED screens were there that were connected to the cameras fitted on the engine and the last boggie. All scenes were seen on the screen which was also a star attraction for the tourists. A panrty car was also with the chair car for the provision of snacks and lunch to the tourists.
Vegetable lunch was available at Rs 35 while non-veg one was being given at Rs 45. When the train reached Patalpani railway station, a 15 minute halt was announced, on which the passengers descended from the train to click the pictures of the beautifully modified station and its surroundings. Artifacts made out of scrap materials were the centres of attraction and a large number of people were seen taking selfies with them. Many passengers rode the rail engine also for clicking pictures.
Thereafter, the train reached the newly built Tantya Bheel station where train again took a halt and the passengers reached the selfie point made in such a way that it oversees the Patalpani waterfall. After that the train left for Kalakund and reached there after a journey of 45 minutes. The inauguration of the train was to be held in a big ceremony but as per the sources, it was avoided due to some political restrictions
PARTY TOH AABH SHURU HUI HAIN… BUT hold on… nature loving tourist will have to wait for online booking of tickets of the train and also for the online booking of stay in the coachturned suit at Kalakund. This happened because the relevant data could not be fed into the railways’ online reservation system.
However, officials were not in a condition to commit on a start date. According to sources, it will take 2 weeks. Till then, tourists can take off-line reserved tickets from Mhow Railway Station. The railway has also made arrangement of stay at Kalakund railway station, which is the termination point of the heritage track.
One defunct meter gauge coach has been transformed into two seprate rooms, whose rate has been pegged at Rs 750 for 24 hours. The 16-seat dormitory is also not ready. So, tourists will have to wait for a few more days. Booking for both (coachroom and dormitory) will be done through IRCTC as soon the accommodations and IRCTC will be ready. DRM RN Sunkar said very soon all the required facilities will be readied at Kalakund and online booking facilities and accommodation will a avialable soon.