Udaipur (Rajasthan), Jan. 18 : A group of 23 foreign and domestic tourists enjoyed the spectacular view of India''s northwestern desert state Rajasthan on a luxury train ''Royal Rajasthan on Wheels'' on its maiden run.

''Royal Rajasthan on Wheels,'' a joint venture of Indian Railways and Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) was flagged off from national capital New Delhi on January 11.

An epitome of luxury ''Royal Rajasthan on Wheels'' has two resto-cum-bars, which offer lavish Indian cuisines with blended wines.

V. K. Shravan, general manager of the train said it was more luxurious than the ''Palace on Wheels''.

"In this train there are 13 deluxe saloons and one super deluxe saloon. There are three suites, which are named ruby, sapphire and pearl. The linen provided in these suites matches with the interiors. The size of the beds in these cabins is also very big and for the first time cubical showers are introduced in the bathrooms. The bathrooms are spacious, much bigger and has more place than the one''s on Palace on wheels," said Shravan.

Tourists said the train offered them the luxury of exploring the desert state in the shortest time possible.

"I have to travel on ''Royal Rajasthan on Wheels'' because I saw Rajasthan around 25-30 years back when I was in my school and I really wanted to travel on this train and see the historic places of Rajasthan and there was no other means besides this on which I could explore Rajasthan in such a short time and this is why me and my husband are travelling on this train," said Vandana, a domestic tourist.

The Indian Railways and RTDC have been operating another luxury train, the ''Palace on Wheels'' since 1982.

The new luxury train is an advanced version of the ''Palace on Wheels'' and follows the same itinerary of ''Palace on Wheels,'' connecting the historical and tourist sports of the desert state of Rajasthan. (ANI)