Tourism sector is a good source of foreign exchange earnings for the country and an important revenue source for the Railways.

“Mountain railways of India are World Heritage Sites placing India in an exclusive club of nations that include only Switzerland and Austria. We are truly proud of this and are committed to take measures to preserve them in good shape and health,” said the Indian Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal while presenting the annual Budget for the year 2013-14 in Parliament on Tuesday.

Despite a good number of existing trains for promoting tourism to religious, heritage sites, the Indian Railways has planned to run an educational tourist train called Azadi Express to enable youth to travel to important places connected with the freedom movement in the country.

As the railway line up to Katra is likely to be commissioned soon, the Indian Railways in coordination with Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has planned to issue yatra parchis to pilgrims travelling by rail at the time of booking of the railway ticket. Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine is a holy shrine of the Hindus.

Indian Railways has also planned to connect Takht Shri Damdama Sahib at Talwandi, a holy site for Sikhs, by constructing railway line from Rama Mandi to Maur Mandi via Talwandi Saboo. Other four Sikh Takhts are already connected by rail.

For enjoying the beauty of the Kashmir valley, Indian Railways has planned to launch a multi-modal travel package in cooperation with the Jammu and Kashmir State Government to enable passengers to travel from Jammu through Udhampur, Qazigund to Srinagar and Baramulla on a common rail-bus ticket.

Executive lounges will be set up in seven important station like Bilaspur, Visakhapatnam, Patna, Nagpur, Agra, Jaipur and Bengaluru. One such executive lounge has already been set up in New Delhi station.

National Rail Museum in New Delhi is a premier institution holding a large number of priceless rail exhibits. It showcases Indian Railways’ history and its evolution. The Museum has come to acquire a prominent place on the Delhi tourist map. To provide a memorable experience to the visitors especially the children, a revamp plan will be rolled out in the current year.

About 104 stations serving a population of more than one million and those serving places of religious tourism will be identified for immediate attention.

With a view to facilitate business tourism, the Indian Railways has planned to provide free Wi-Fi facility on several trains to cater to the increasing aspirations and requirement of youth, professionals and businessmen.
Indian Railways has also planned to introduce on coach in select trains which will provide an excellent ambiance and latest modern facilities and services. Such coaches will be named Anubhuti (meaning experience) with commensurate fare structure.