The Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, will flag off Deccan Odyssey luxury tourist train on January 16, 2004 in Mumbai at a function to be attended, among other dignitaries, by the Railway Minister, Shri Nitish Kumar, and the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde.

The Deccan Odyssey is a joint venure between the Indian Railways and the Government of Maharashtra represented by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) following a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of February 7, 2001.

The train will have on-board facilities like T.V., cable connection with central audio disc player, cell phones, channel music and foreign exchange change facilities.

The new luxury tourist train, consisting of Air Conditioned Saloon Cars, Air Conditioned Bar Car, Air Conditioned Restaurant Car and Air Conditioned Gym and Yoga Car, will traverse a distance of over 2200 kilometres covering a variety of visual delights for tourists.

The itinerary will include the world heritage sites of Ajanta and Ellora, lush green spots and breath-taking pristine beauty along the Konkan railway route and luring and ever enchanting Goa on Mumbai-Ratnagiri-Sindhu Durg-Goa-Pune-Aurangabad (Ajanta and Ellora Caves)-Nasik-Mumbai.

The MTDC will market and maintain the train, while the Indian Railways will operate it on the pattern of the Palace on Wheels super luxury train in Delhi-Agra-Rajasthan circuit and the Royal Orient luxury train in Delhi-Gujarat sector. The Deccan Odyssey will showcase the tourism assets of Maharashtra, the grandeur of Konkan coast, the art, the culture, the heritage of Maharashtra as well as local arts, crafts and cuisine of the state during the journey.