Railways to start 18-day ‘Ramayan Yatra’ on April 7

LUCKNOW: The Railways will restart the "Ramayan Yatra" train on April 7 from New Delhi, covering several prominent places associated with the life of Lord Rama, including Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and also places in other states too, railway officials said.

A press statement by the Indian Railways said, "Tourists travelling in the train will be given a halt in Ayodhya where they will visit Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple, Hanuman temple and will be able to see Saryu aarti. Train will also cover Nandigram, Sitamarhi, Janakpur, Buxar, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Nashik, Hampi, Rameshwaram, Bhadrachalam, Nagpur, among others in an 18-day tour."

Indian Railways has taken a initiative to run Bharat Gaurav tourist trains to promote the "Dekho Apna Desh" and "Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat" vision of the Indian government.

According to Indian Railways, the proposed train tour is going to be operated in Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC tourist train having modern amenities such as AC-I and AC-II class coaches accommodating 156 tourists.

Features include two fine dining restaurants, a modern kitchen, shower cubicles in coaches, sensor-based washroom functions, foot massager etc.

The train has enhanced security features of CCTV cameras and security guards for each coach. Tourists can also board/deboard at Delhi, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Tundla, Etawah, Kanpur and Lucknow railway station.

The first halt of this train will be Ayodhya followed by Bharat Mandir at Nandigram, Sitamarhi in Bihar where tourists will be visiting Sita's birthplace and Ram Janki temple in Janakpur, Nepal.

After Sitamarhi, the train proceeds for Buxar, Varanasi where the tourists will visit the Kashi Vishwanath temple and corridor, the Tulsi Mandir and Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple.

Afterwards, the train will follow to Prayagraj, Shringverpur and Chitrakoot, Nasik, Hampi, Rameshwaram, Bhadrachalam, Nagpur and ending at Delhi, said the statement by the Railways.