Passengers booking tickets for the railways' luxury train, Maharajas' Express, can now avail 17 per cent discount on Air India tickets to any part of the country, a senior railway official said Wednesday. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the travel and tourism arm of railways and Air India, has signed an MoU to develop and promote special tour packages for the flagship premium rail tourist products of Indian Railways – the Maharajas' Express and Buddhist Circuit Deluxe Special Train.

Passengers can book the tickets–for the train as well as the flight–starting Wednesday on the Maharajas' Express website. The offer will be valid for the Buddhist Circuit train at a later date. "Passengers can now book tickets for the Maharajas' Express and they will get a 17 per cent discount on their Air India tickets.

These tickets can be for travel between any cities of India," the official said. This is a first-of-its-kind initiative by both the travel giants which are looking at leveraging their respective markets and large customer base. The Maharajas' Express is an ultra-luxury offering of IRCTC which covers the major princely tourist attractions in the country like Delhi, Agra, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Varanasi, Mysore, Goa and Mumbai.