New Delhi: A day before the Government tables the Railway Budget, the Economic Survey for 2008-09 suggested that the Centre should allow private players in passenger train operations to tourist spots.
"Private entry into provision of passenger trains must be allowed to and from all the tourist destinations," said the survey.
"About a dozen tourist routes could be identified and a single licence issued to private companies to provide passenger service to one or all routes," it added.
The Railway Ministry is already looking at public-private partnership and has allowed the entry of private companies to run luxury trains like Palace on Wheels, Royal Rajasthan on Wheels and Deccan Odyssey to specific locations.
These trains are operated in partnership with the state governments on revenue-sharing basis.
In recent years, the Indian Railways have signed agreements with the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand to promote railway tourism in these states.
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