The decision to restart the service, which had only been used twice since it was first launched in 2007 by then Railways minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, was made earlier this year and the carriage has been renovated, a PR spokesman told The Express Tribune. He said that the service would be advertised in the media to make more people aware of it. The one-way fare from Lahore to Karachi has been fixed at Rs127,000.
The Marriage Saloon was last used in March 2008, when a family paid Rs75,800 for the service. After that the PR twice raised the fare and got no takers. The spokesman said that Railways would consider cutting the fare to that of a regular AC coach seat to get more customers. If the service fails again, the saloon might be converted to a regular coach, he said.
The saloon includes a separate room for the bride and groom, a drawing room, a dressing room, a kitchen and a separate room for an attendant, along with 25 seats for guests.
Another PR official said on condition of anonymity that the service had not been suspended but there was simply no interest in it because of the high cost and low capacity of the carriage.
PR customer Saeed Akhter said that when his son wed in Karachi, he took 50 guests with him as the barat. “I was aware of the service but then I heard the fare, and that it could only fit 25 people. I ended up just hiring regular coach seats for everyone,” he said.
Buying 50 economy tickets on the Karakoram Express in 2008 cost about Rs45,000, as opposed to the then Rs75,800 cost of hiring the Marriage Saloon for Rs75,800.
Another citizen said that trains were always late, so it would be risky to use them for a travelling barat party.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2011.
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