The India Railways has very rationally confirmed the commencement of the six pilgrim trains and tourist packages from 25th October 2014.
The Railway Minister, Shri D.V Sadananda Gowda, announced in his last budget speech July 2014; that the trains will be covering the pilgrim destinations of all the religious groups in India.
The Indian Railways Corporation and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) are assigned to oversee the functioning of these trains.
The Special Six Pilgrim Trains Tour packages are named as:
1. Sukhamangalam Yatra, Ex Bangalore
Duration : 9 nights/ 10 days Destinations covered : Bajipur-Solapur-Pandharpur-Aurangabad-Shirdi-Badami Starting date : 24th October 2014 Price Details : Standard (8,190/-), Comfort (17,730/-), Deluxe (23,850/-)2. Dham Special with Dakshin Darshan through Lucknow
Duration : 17 nights/ 18 days Destinations covered : Ayodhya – Varanasi – Puri – Tirupati – Kanchipuram – Rameshwaram – Madurai – Kanyakumari- Aurangabad – Dwarka – Ujjain Starting date : 27th October 2014 Price Details : Standard (16,380/-), Comfort (35,460/-), Deluxe (47,700)3. Dham Special with Dakshin Darshan through Jaipur
Duration : 17 nights/ 18 days Destinations covered : Ayodhya- Varanasi- Puri- Tirupati- Kanchipuram-Rameshwaram-Madurai- Kanyakumari-Aurangabad-Dwarka- Ujjain Starting date : 15th November 2014 Price details : Standard (16,380) , Comfort (35,460/-), Deluxe (47,700)4. Shree Shikhar Ji Circuit Yatra
Duration : 6 nights/ 7 days Destinations covered : Rajgir- Pawapuri- Badagaon- Parasnath- Varanasi Starting date : 5th December 2014 Price details : Standard (6,370/-), Comfort (13,790), Deluxe (18,550/-)5. Jyotirling Yatra
Duration : 11 nights/ 12 days Destinations covered : Mahakaleshwar-Omkareshwar-Nageshwar- Somnath-Grishnwshwar- Trayamashankar Jyotrilinga Starting date : 13th December 2014 Price details : Standard (10,920/-), Comfort (23,640/-), Deluxe (31,800/-)[ If interested? Check-out 12 Jyotirlinga Tour Package ]
6. Takht Parikrama
Duration : 9 nights/ 10 days Destinations covered : Gwalior – Nanded- Bider- Patna Sahib Starting date : 29th December 2014 Price details : Standard (9,100/-), Comfort (19,700/-), Deluxe (26, 500/-)This decision was adopted not only to promote the Indian Rail tourism but for the benefit of the tourists, who can now opt for these reasonable packages. A few other pilgrim Circuit tourist trains, whose launching will be declare after the Budget Announcement are being discussed.
