Pune, the cultural capital of the state, has been left out of the revised itinerary of the Deccan Odyssey, the super-deluxe luxury tourist train. The train will only make a night halt in Pune, which will also help the staff replenish stocks. Tourists will not get to see the city's historic landmarks and cultural wealth.

Modelled on the famous Palace on Wheels heritage train in Rajasthan and other tourist trains such as the Blue Train of South Africa and Orient Express of Europe, the recently-renovated Deccan Odyssey is operated by the state-run Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), Indian Railways and the ministry of tourism. The train's first seven-day journey after its recent renovation will begin from Mumbai on December 7 as per a report in TOI by Manish Umbrajkar. 

MTDC joint managing director Avinash Dhakne said several reasons, including "operational constraints" of the railways, resulted in Pune being left out of the itinerary. "There was no intention of skipping Pune. However, due to operational reasons, the city has not been included. The itinerary is decided on various factors, including the interest of tourists. However, we will make all efforts to include it in future," he said.

"Japanese tourists are not interested in seeing Pune. On the other hand, European tourists, particularly those from France, Britain, Germany and Italy, are interested in some of the historic landmarks linked to Mahatma Gandhi in Pune. They like to visit the Aga Khan Palace. The next time Pune is included in the itinerary, tourists will get to visit Aga Khan Palace and Shaniwarwada," Dhakne said.

Pune was an integral part of the seven-day tour when the Deccan Odyssey was launched in January 2004. During its one-day halt in the city, passengers were taken to the Ohel David Synagogue (Lal Deval, built in 1867), Osho Ashram, Aga Khan Palace, Mahatma Phule Mandai, Raja Dinkar Kelkar museum, the state tribal and cultural museum and the Shaniwarwada light and sound show.

In the revised itinerary, Pune as well as the Tadoba national park near Chandrapur have been omitted. Dhakne said most of the tourists travelling by this train were senior citizens. "They do not enjoy watching wildlife as much as youngsters. Hence, we decided to skip the Tadoba sanctuary as well. In the revised plan, tourists will spend more time in Sindhudurg and Goa," he said.

Dhakne said the MTDC was looking at including Shirdi in the tour and was checking the operational feasibility with the railways. The Deccan Odyssey, which starts from Mumbai, covers the Konkan region including Sindhudurg and Tarkarli beach resort.

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