A tour of 'Palace on wheels', the luxury train

The Palace on Wheels is a luxury tourist train. It was launched by the Indian Railways to promote tourism in Rajasthan. An employee stands inside a cabin of the Palace on Wheels' train in New Delhi. (AP Photo)

Indian employee of the Palace on Wheels' train waits for passengers in New Delhi. (AP Photo)

A table is set for passengers inside a cabin of the Palace on Wheels' train. (AP Photo)

The luxury tourist train departed on Wednesday on its first commercial journey for 2013 2014 to Rajasthan and Agra.

There are 14 coaches in the train. Each is named after former Rajput states and matches the aesthetics and interiors of the royal past Alwar, Bharatpur, Bikaner, Bundi, Dholpur, Dungargarh, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Jhalawar, Jodhpur, Kishangarh, Kota, Sirohi and Udaipur.

Each coach has four cabins (named chambers or saloons by the company) with luxury amenities.

The train has two restaurants, The Maharaja and The Maharani, with a Rajasthani ambiance serving continental, Chinese cuisine.

Earlier, tickets for the Palace on Wheels were could be bought only in Dollars, but now it can be easily bought in INR.