IRCTC announces Bharat Darshan Specials

Naveen S Garewal 
Tribune News Service 
Hyderabad, January 17 

As travel restrictions ease, there is good news for people waiting to go on a pilgrimage. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a subsidiary of the Indian Railways has launched a series of Bharat Darshan Tourist Train aimed at taking people to various pilgrim towns. These trains will originate from Hyderabad and Secundrabad and cover various destinations.   

Sources in the Southern Railways said the IRCTC Bharat Darshan Special Tourist Trains will be clubbed with Domestic Air Packages and Land Packages starting from Hyderabad and Secunderabad to take pilgrims to places like Rameswaram, Madurai, Kanyakumari and Puri. 

The IRCTC handles catering, tourism, and online ticketing operations for Indian Railways. According to the available information, the Bharat Darshan Tourist Train will be affordable and be all-inclusive. The first such train will start from Hyderabad on January 22 and cover destinations such as Tiruchirapalli-Thanjavur-Rameswaram-Madurai-Kanyakumari in a week. 

Similar operations are also being planned from other parts of the country and will be announced soon. The information will be uploaded on the IRCTC website after finalisation of these tours. The booking for the pilgrimage from Hyderabad has already started and boarding points will include Secunderabad, Warangal, Khammam, Vijayawada, Ongole, Nellore and Renigunta. 

Sources said standard tariff in a sleeper class is Rs 7,140 and for comfort, it is Rs.8,610. The ticket would include night stay or facility to freshen up at dharmashalas, halls, or dormitories on a sharing basis, apart from morning tea or coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and one litre of drinking water per day. 

Another train would soon be started from Hyderabad that will go to Jagannath Dham, covering Secundrabad, Puri, Bhubaneswar, and Konark. Passengers can upgrade the accommodation to any category of hotels at the destination at extra cost based on the availability. This five-day trip will commence on March 5 and end on March 9 and will cost between Rs 5,250 and Rs 6,300.