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Buy one ticket, fly Air-India, roll on rails!

Air-India passengers flying from the Middle East to India will soon be able to make reservations for onward journeys by trains to different points in the country, a senior official of the airline said here today.

The facility, designed to add value to the airline's services, would initially be available only from the Gulf states, the official said.

According to him, a memorandum of understanding was signed in this regard in May between Air-India and the Indian Railways.

Under the arrangement, the railways' reservation status will be available on Air-India's computers in this region.

Air-India's offices will also maintain stocks of rail tickets and issue them to passengers needing the facility, he said.

''We are currently in the process of ascertaining the demand on various sectors, on the basis of which we will position tickets,'' he explained.

''We hope to start offering the facility in about two months, by which time the computer links and the tickets will be in place,'' he said.

''We also have to make sure that we have a fail-proof transfer service from the airports to the railway stations,'' he pointed out. The official said the airline was confident that the new facility would get a good response in the Gulf region, especially because of the improved services now provided by the railways and the rising costs of domestic air journeys.

The facility will, particularly, be useful for those travelling from Gulf to points in India where there are no airports.

Such passengers can land at an airport and then reach their destinations by train with advance seat reservations and the price of the rail journey included in the price of their air tickets.

The facility is also expected to be popular with foreign tourists and Non-Resident Indians wishing to explore the country by rail.

For such passengers, the airline is also planning to stock tickets of trains such as the Palace on Wheels and the Rajdhani Express.

''The connections will be mostly provided on express trains known for their quality service,'' the official added.

UNI