Along with different classes of seats to serve different hotels, Indian railways is now planning to tie up with a range of hotels to serve passengers with deep pockets to the small time business man.
As part of its tourism and catering services, railways is in talks to tie up with hotels including the Taj group and Ginger Hotels?a chain of budget hotels. Once the agreement is finalised, railway passengers can reserve a hotel room for their trips along with booking their railway ticket. ?We are in talks with the content manager of the websites of these hotels and will finalise an agreement soon,? a railway official said.
Railways is also talking to a few other hotel groups for such an arrangement. ?Our main idea is to tie up with hotels with a national presence and repute,? the official added. ?A lot of times passengers reach a new city and have no place to stay. They fall into the hands of touts or go to seedy hotels,? he added.
The service would be available on the Indian Railways Tourism and Catering Corporation?s website as well as by calling 139?the number for the recently launched railway call centre. The service is part of the value added services available on the number, which FE had reported earlier.
Cab services are also available on the IRCTC website and the railway call enquiry number, in its value added segment.
For railways, it is also likely to provide a small but significant portion of revenue. IRCTC will earn a commission on hotel rooms booked through its website or phone service. However railway officials said the service is aimed mainly at increasing passenger amenities. ?We want to give them a complete travel solution and not only a facility to book their train tickets,? an official pointed out.