When the inaugural Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train departs on its maiden voyage on June 21, it will cross a new boundary, becoming the first tourist train from India to enter into Nepal. The train will travel through the Ramayana Circuit, which has been selected as part of the Ministry of Tourism’s Swadesh Darshan project, and will pass through significant locations related with Lord Ram’s life.
According to top officials from the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the tour would include a visit to the Ram Janaki temple in Janakpur, Nepal.
IRCTC will operate the 14-coach train, which will have 11 air-conditioned three-tier coaches for passengers, as well as a pantry car, a restaurant car, and a separate vehicle for train workers.
“Vegetarian meals will be served to the visitors, which will be freshly prepared on board.” “The train will feature an entertainment system, and security will be provided by CCTV cameras and guards,” an IRCTC official stated.
The train has a capacity of 600 tourists, and IRCTC officials claimed 293 people — over half the capacity — had reserved seats by May 26.
The 18-day journey will begin at Safdarjung Railway Station in Delhi. For the all-inclusive package, tickets start at Rs 62,370 per person. To board, a final certificate of Covid-19 vaccine is required.
The Bharat Gaurav Train will stop at Ayodhya, where travellers may visit the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple and the Hanuman Temple, as well as the Bharat Mandir near Nandigram.
The train will next travel to Buxar, Bihar, where passengers will see Vishwamitra’s hermitage and the Ganga’s Ramrekha Ghat.
Following that, a trip to Janakpur, Nepal, would be made through Jainagar, Bihar’s Madhubani district. Tourists will spend the night at Janakpur hotels and visit the town’s Ram-Janaki Temple.
The train will return to India via Janakpur and travel to Sitamarhi in Bihar, which is thought to be Sita’s birthplace.
Varanasi is the next stop. Tourists will tour the old city’s temples and go by road to Shringverpur, where Ram, Sita, and Laxman are said to have crossed the Ganga, and Chitrakoot.
The train will next go west and south, stopping at Nasik for visits to the Trayambakeshwar temple and Panchvati, and then in Krishkindha, Hampi, where Lord Hanuman is said to have been born.
The next stop will be Rameshwaram, where the Ramanathaswamy temple and Dhanushkodi will be visited. The train will next depart for Kanchipuram, where the Shiv Kanchi, Vishnu Kanchi, and Kamakshi temples will be visited for a day. The train will next travel to Bhadrachalam in Telangana, often known as the Ayodhya of the South, before arriving in Delhi at the end of its 8,000-kilometer trip.
Previously, tourist trains from India covered the Ramayana Circuit excursions, and Janakpur was reached from Sitamarhi station. However, with the help of Nepal Railway, the Indian Railways have recently extended the track from Jainagar station in India to Janakpur in Nepal, according to IRCTC officials.
“I had mentioned in Janakpur that ‘without Nepal, our Lord Ram is likewise incomplete,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recently during his visit to Lumbini. I’m sure the people of Nepal are as pleased as I am that a magnificent temple for Lord Shri Ram is being constructed in India.”
Other itineraries will be made out after the Ramayana Circuit, organisers added. Last year, the Indian Railways introduced the Bharat Gaurav trains, which would be operated by private companies on themed circuits. Any operator or service provider can lease a train to run on a theme-based circuit as part of a unique tourist package, according to the Bharat Gaurav policy.
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