IRCTC is having a good day today; at least it did till mid-morning. From yesterday’s close of Rs.902.25, it opened stronger at Rs.911, rising to an intraday high at Rs.916.90. Its 52-week high is at Rs.981.35.

The company has signed a concession agreement with the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC).

As per the agreement, IRCTC will refurbish KSTDC’s Golden Chariot train and restart its operations from March 2020.  The agreement is for 10 years and is on a revenue sharing basis.

The 18-coach luxury train has 44 guest rooms that can accommodate 84 guests, covering tourist attractions in Karnataka and Goa. Due to low occupancy, the train service was discontinued in 2018. It was haulage charges which broke the back of this luxury train and now with the charges halved, maybe it will finally break even.

The train was charging a tariff of Rs.43,000 per day; hopefully there will be a rationalization in this too which in turn will see occupancy going up.