Unity Express for Sardar Patel’s Statue of Unity: Special train service by Indian Railways! Check details
Special Tourist Train Sevice – Unity Express: Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways is running a special train service between Rajkot and Shirdi. Called the Unity Express, the special train service will run from Rajkot in Gujarat to Rameshwaram, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Trivandrum, Tirupati, Shirdi and Shani Singnapur. The boarding and de-boarding stations will be Rajkot, Surendranagar, Viramgam, Sabarmati, Anand, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat and Kalyan. The special tourist train package will include all meals, sightseeing as well as transportation. The Unity Express special train service will cover several iconic pilgrim sites.
According to a TOI report, the Unity Express train will leave Rajkot at 12:50 AM for Rameshwaram and will reach Rameshwaram on 3 November, 2018. From there, it will take passengers to Madurai, Nagarcoil, Kochuveli, Renigunta and Shirdi. Rajkot Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) P B Ninawe was quoted in the report saying that the route and places are mixture of religious places and tourists places.
The accommodation will be provided by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) at various places along with food on board and off board to the passengers. Also, special bus services have been arranged for sight seeing, the DRM added.
The Unity Express consists of 16 coaches for passengers including 12 sleeper coaches and 1 third AC coach. The Unity Express has the capacity to accommodate as many as 800 passengers. The special package, which is for 11 nights and 12 days will cost Rs 11,340 per person for sleeper class and Rs 13,860 per person for comfort class.
It has also been reported that there will be posters of Sardar Vallabhbhai outside and inside coach. Moreover, in a special coach, there will be an exhibition on Sardar Patel’s life. One umbrella containing the logo of IRCTC and also the picture of Sardar Patel and with Unity express written in bold font will be given to each passengers along with a key chain as a souvenir.
As per the IRCTC website, total 804 sleeper class berths and 62 3rd AC berths are available for booking. Interested passengers can book their tickets online.