Last December, the Indian Railways launched a unique initiative that now looks set to pay it rich dividends.

Anticipating a huge rush for railway tickets for air-conditioned travel on the Delhi-Mumbai route, it had operated a premium train service to connect the two cities during the Christmas-New Year holiday season last year.

And, believe it or not, it sold one-way AC Tier-III tickets at up to Rs 12,000 apiece and AC Tier-II ones at up to Rs 17,000 -- six to seven times higher than the ordinary Rajdhani Express fare on this route.

If travel experts are to be believed, the premium the Railways pocketed during the pilot train service is not surprising.

The demand for rail or air tickets is huge during the December holiday season, when even airfares go up to well over Rs 12,000 for a one-way journey.

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