The Bharat Gaurav Special Tourist Train, covering the tourist destinations of North India, will start from New Jalpaiguri (NJP) railway station on May 18, an official of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said on Friday. The journey spans 8 nights and nine days, covering key destinations including Vaishno Devi, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, Vrindavan, and Ayodhya.
The train, comprising AC-3 tier and economy/sleeper class coaches, will traverse through Malda Town, Rampurhat, Dumka, Bhagalpur, Jamalpur, Kiul to reach Patna Junction on May 19.
On May 20 and 21, the train will be stationed at Vaishno Devi Katra station and on May 22 and 23, the train will be at Haridwar station. On May 24, the train will be stationed at Mathura and at Ayodhya on May 25.
The train will start its return journey from Ayodhya to reach Patna Junction on May 26 from where the tourists can start their de-boarding at their respective destinations till New Jalpaiguri station.
The cost of the package will be Rs 29,500 for AC class and Rs 17,900 per person for economy/sleeper class.
The station will be redeveloped at an estimated cost of INR 123.36 crore in engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) mode. The construction period is 30 months. Meanwhile, the same agencies secured the contract for the redevelopment of Thiruvananthapuram Central Railway Station at an estimated cost of INR 439 crore in EPC mode. The expected completion period is 42 months.
Bharat Gaurav is the first such tourism special train and is in line with the Centre’s initiative ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat’ and ‘Dekho Apna Desh’, the official said in a release.
