New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) The fares of the Bharat Gaurav trains are likely to be slashed by 20-30 per cent after low occupancy forced the IRCTC to cancel at least two of its special tour packages, sources said here. A final decision is yet to be taken.The Railways" nod to the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to reduce fares of the special train comes barely a year after the service was launched.So far, the transporter has managed to operate just one service of the train on the Ramayana circuit. The AC-3 tier fare for an 18-day tour in the Bharat Gaurav tourist train is Rs 62,000.While the train was launched to give a "concerted thrust to efforts for promotion of domestic tourism through provision of better quality coaches and viable tour packages", the sources said, the high fares pushed it as a "luxury brand" for a certain section of people.They indicated that while a final decision on the rate cut was yet to be taken, the low occupancy of the train has been blamed on its high ticket fares as well as the discomfort of the 15-year-old ICF coaches provided for the service."Approval has been given to make the fares of sleeper and AC-3 classes cheaper. IRCTC will take a final decision on this soon. It will be cheaper by at least 20-30 per cent. After this, the tour operator will announce it," a source said."The problem is that the fares are too high for an average middle-class traveller. Also, they were used to availing the Bharat Darshan trains which were much cheaper," the source added.Till now, the Railways has cancelled two planned services -- the Bharat Gaurav Special Shri Jagannath Yatra Rail Tour, which was to commence on November 8, and the second Ramayana Circuit Bharat Gaurav train -- due to lack of occupancy.Officials said the IRCTC has written multiple letters to the Railway Board, highlighting the issues with the Bharat Gaurav trains and even the loss in revenue for the operator due to low occupancy. It had maintained that the price of the tickets were too high.The Railway Board, it seems, has finally acquiesced. In a circular issued last week, it gave approval to use only LHB coaches for the service, which means that pilgrims will have sleeper and AC3 coaches with comfortable berths, better lighting, mobile charging points, and other facilities.The letter states that the policy has been reviewed to "to give a concerted thrust to efforts for promotion of domestic tourism through provision of better quality coaches and viable tour packages".Passengers are facing the pinch of the high prices as in its previous avatar, then called the Bharat Darshan train, tickets would cost Rs 900 per person per day for sleeper class and Rs 1,500 per person per day for AC-3 Tier. This was discontinued in April 2022."The cost of a similar journey on Bharat Darshan would be around Rs 27,000," the source said.During January to March 2022, the Bharat Darshan trains completed 16 trips, earning a revenue of Rs 13.15 crore. PTI ASG IJT