Travel & Tourism

IRCTC organizes packages to various destinations for which Indian Railways earmarks seats/berths in trains for the to and fro journey. These packages originate from different parts of the country and offer tours to pilgrim destinations, leisure hubs etc. At present IRCTC operates more than 70 Rail Tour Packages.

IRCTC organizes train tours for the budget travelers with fixed departure dates and itineraries. These trains are called Bharat Darshan Trains and Aastha Circuit Trains. In the year 2018-19, 99 trips of Bharat Darshan and Aastha Circuit Trains were operated with more than 50,000 tourists travelling on them.

IRCTC pioneered special interest tours by trains way back in 2007, with the launch of Buddhist Circuit Tourist Train.

Launched in 2007, this train tour covers the important destinations linked to Buddha’s life. A new train with state of art features was inducted in 2018 to provide better facilities to guests. The 7 Nights/8 Days package includes Bodhgaya, Nalanda, Sarnath, Sravasti, Rajgir, Varanasi, Lumbini and Agra.

IRCTC operates Bharat Gaurav tourist train having AC III Tier accommodation on train specially designed to promote domestic tourism in India. This train runs on various theme based circuits covering pilgrimage and heritage destinations in its itinerary on a 5 days to 20 days trip and showcase India s rich cultural heritage"..

Arguably the best luxury train in the world, Maharajas’ Express has been voted as the Leading Luxury Train of the World for 7 years in a row since 2012 by World Travel Awards. The itineraries are an eclectic mix of Indian history, culture and wildlife. The train’s interiors feature the best of contemporary world. Into its 10th year of operation, itineraries of the train have been revamped from season 2019-20 onwards.

IRCTC took over the marketing and operations of Golden Chariot Luxury Train from Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation Limited in January 2020 for a period of 10 years. The Golden Chariot is a window to the soul of South India, offering a perfect blend of religion, culture, nature and adventure, through three well curated itineraries covering destinations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa.

IRCTC launched the online booking module of trains, coaches and saloons on Charter Basis in 2018. Groups, Families and Corporate Houses can now book full trains on their desired routes or exclusive coaches and saloons to be attached to regular trains through this online module.