We have luxury buses and we have dime a dozen flights. And now we have a high-speed premium train, from Mumbai to Goa. It will leave Karmali at 2.30 pm every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May 23 and arrive Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai at 11 pm same day. Short and sweet you might say. Wind up your business meetings in Panjim and make it back in Mumbai before midnight fresh and relaxed.
For the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this development was something they felt was very positive. Sandeep Bhandare, President GCCI said “We are very happy with the introduction of this premium service. I feel there should be similar services provided from other cities to Goa. Businessmen can now complete their meetings at both ends and come home in a couple of hours. It is relaxing and good food is provided on board. The use of faster trains is a wonderful development. It will also be a boon for tourism with one more mode of transport now available for tourists.”
Atreya Sawant, President of CII, Goa was excited with the new service. He said “Tourism will gain and I believe congestion of the roads will ease with additional train service. Tejas will give an extra option for tourists. It will be an opportunity for repeat tourists to experience the beautiful Western Ghats. We hope soon it will start plying at its full capable speed that will make Mumbai a few hours away.”
In 2016, according to provincial figures, 56,50,061 domestic tourists visited the State and around 6,80,683 foreign tourists. This was an increase of 19.50% over the previous year.
Gavin Dias, general manager, GTDC said this was a welcome development. Replying to questions mailed to him about how the GTDC intended to take advantage of this launch he said “Goa being a touristic destination welcomes millions of tourists every year from all over. The launch of a luxury train is a big boost to the tourism industry of Goa. We will now see a surge in tourist arrivals from Maharashtra and neighbouring states. We are happy that India’s first semi-high speed luxury train service is operating between Mumbai and Goa which will be a big benefit for travelers to Goa who can avail of this rail service both during the tourism season and off-season. “
Asked if the organisation intended to develop holiday packages to induce travelers he said they had a lot of holiday packages both during the peak and off-season. There were special discounts and packages for various tourism activities, accommodation and other products and services. The e-commerce portal and mobile app, he said which is the platform for tourists to do their bookings, had received an overwhelming response. They would explore the possibility of new packages and benefits for tourists who are traveling to Goa on Tejas express based on the response and demand from tourists.
With Goa playing the numbers game , it would be pertinent to ask if the GTDC intended to ask for more of such trains. He said “Since Tejas express has just being launched, Goa Tourism will be looking forward to the successful commissioning of this service from Mumbai and will definitely impress on the railway ministry to introduce new luxury trains, holiday special trains, special train service to Dudhsagar during the monsoons and many such attractive rail services to Goa. We are also looking forward to the launch of the Maharajah Express which is likely to start soon. I am also keen that the railway ministry will look into the urgent need for up-gradation of railway stations with improved facilities, cleanliness and hygiene. The Union Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu, has been instrumental in augmenting rail networking services across the country and Goa has been a major beneficiary in this endeavor as tourism is getting the much needed boost from the rail route”.
One of the major problems that blight the stay of tourists is the poor state of transport. The taxi mafia, do as they wish. In such a scenario does the GTDC intend to provide a bus to pick up travelers using this service from Karmalli? To which Gavin’s answer was that since the train is just launched, GTDC may explore the possibilities of providing bus pick up services from the station that will help tourists visiting the State if there is a good response. Time will tell on that score.
It remains to be seen, how successful this service will be in the years ahead and who is using its service. The cost of a ticket is much more than the airfare between Mumbai and Goa. This is perhaps the start of the practice which has been in place in the west for years. One pays for the time and the manner in which one is transported. Long haul journeys in Europe by rail are way more expensive than by flight. One will have to wait and see how this fares in India.
