Centre to run Spl train from UP, Uttarakhand for tourists to visit Hindu temples in South

The Centre will run special trains for Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh tourists willing to visit Hindu religious places in South India. The special tourist train will run for 10 days, from August 29 and September 9, with special 12-day and 11-night packages for the people.

Taking an unusual step, the Indian Railways will soon provide a special religious trip to the Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh public to visit South Indian Hindu temples. Railway officials informed that the Indian Railways will run a special Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train in August for travel to major pilgrimage sites in South India, including Tirupati Balaji in Andhra Pradesh and one of four Dhams of the Hindus Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu.

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Uttarakhand-based tourists will be able to board the train at the Haridwar and Rishikesh railway stations while Uttar Pradesh tourists will be able to board it at eight different stations.

Ajit Kumar Sinha, Regional Manager of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC), informed that Bharat Gaurav Tourists Train will run under the aegis of IRCTC. According to him, it will run for 10 days, from August 29 and September 9, for the passengers who book tickets according to package plans scheduled by IRCTC. The train will start from Yog Nagari Rishikesh Railway Station on August 29.

IRCTC has announced a special 11-night and 12-day tour package to the devotees which will include visits to 7-8 big Hindu religious centres and sightseeing. The IRCTC package cost fixed per person will be ₹24,350 for Sleeper Class, ₹41,800 for AC-3 while price for second AC class will be ₹55,750 for the entire period of tour.

The travel package will include train fare, breakfast, vegetarian lunch and dinner, lodging facilities in AC and non-AC as scheduled according to the package availed by the passengers and sightseeing at the pilgrimage sites in AC and non AC buses.

The religious sites special train will carry the tourists to Tirupati Balaji Temple in Andhra Pradesh, Ramanathaswamy Temple Rameswaram, Meenakshi Temple Madurai, local sightseeing around the sites, Kanyakumari and Mallikarjuna Jyotirlinga Markapur.

As per IRCTC schedule, the tourists travelling to these South Indian religious places can board the train from Yog Nagari Rishikesh and Haridwar in Uttarakhand. Boarding stations for Uttar Pradesh tourists will be Moradabad, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Rae Bareli, Maa Behladevi Dham Pratapgarh, Prayagraj Sangam and Manikpur.

Palakkad in Kerala will be the boarding station for tourists on their return journey. Bookings of the tickets tpr special can be done online on IRCTC website.