The Indian Railways announced the launch of a string of all-inclusive ‘Bharat Darshan’ special train packages of popular pilgrimage destinations and historical places across the country at affordable rates during October-December. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) would operate the ‘Bharat Darshan’ trains, having multiple city pickups, at an affordable price of Rs 800 per person per day, especially for domestic tourists in budget category, a statement said today.All packages include confirmed train tickets, sightseeing, accommodation, vegetarian food, road transportation besides facilities of security guards and housekeeping.
The first train in the series would depart from Chandigarh on October 4 on a six-day visit of Shirdi-Saisignapur-Trayambakeshwar, the three holy places in Maharashtra. Passengers could board the train at Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Delhi Cantt, Rewari and Jaipur stations. The fare for this train is Rs 5,020 per person.
Next in the series is a train which would embark on a 13-day journey of ‘Dakshin Bharat Yatra’ from Varanasi on October 14. Places covered in this trip are Rameswaram, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Tirupati and Malikarjun. The train has stoppages at Mau, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Gonda, Lucknow, Kanpur and Jhansi stations for boarding and ticket fare is Rs 10,870 per person.
The third Bharat Darshan train would depart from Chandigarh on November 2 for South India covering Rameswaram, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Kovalam, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupati and Malikarjun. Passengers can also board this train at Mau, Deoria, Gorakhpur, Gonda, Lucknow, Kanpur and Jhansi stations. The fare for this train is Rs 10,870 per person.
Besides these three itineraries, IRCTC’s North Zone has also planned two packages for ‘Seven Jyotirling Yatra’ on November 7 and December 2, which would originate from Nangal Dam and Varanasi, respectively. These two trains would cost Rs 10,040 per person and cover Ujjain, Omkareshwar, Dwarka, Nageshwar, Somnath, Trayambakeshwar, Shirdi, Bhimashankar, Grishneshwar and Ellora caves.The train starting on November 17 would have stoppages at Chandigarh, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Delhi Cantt, Rewari and Jaipur stations while the one leaving on December 2 would halt at Sultanpur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra and Jhansi stations for boarding and de-boarding of passengers.
IRCTC has planned another trip for Varanasi, Gaya, Puri and Baidyanath Dham yatra on December 17. Starting from Jaipur, the train could be boarded at Agra, Nizamuddin, Ghaziabad, Moradabad, Bareilly and Lucknow stations. The tour price of this train is Rs 7,530 per person. The Railways had already started the process of bookings for all five packages, the statement added.
