Railways mulls plying Vande Bharat on Ram Van Gaman Path route

A blueprint is being prepared for running the Vande Bharat Express from Chitrakoot to Lucknow via Prayagraj and Ayodhya

If things go as planned, the country’s semi high-speed train ‘Vande Bharat Express’ would soon operate on the Ram Van Gaman Path route as well.

(Pic for representation only)

A blueprint is being prepared for running the Vande Bharat Express from Chitrakoot to Lucknow via Prayagraj and Ayodhya, stated officials of the North Central Railway (NCR).

According to officials, this route has been proposed by BJP MP from Phulpur Kesari Devi Patel and the Railway Board is also mulling on the same project.

Since the Central government proposes to operate this semi high-speed train on several new routes, it can be operated on the Chitrakoot-Lucknow route which will not only boost religious tourism but also cater to the demand of passengers of both Lucknow and Prayagraj to have a high-speed train ply between these two important cities as well, said officials.

Holding religious significance, Ram Van Gaman Path is the route that Lord Rama, Sita and Lakshman are believed to have taken during their exile as per the Hindu epic Ramayan. The path as such starts from Ayodhya and ends at Sri Lanka but in UP it stretches from Ayodhya to Chitrakoot and passes through Prayagraj’s Shrivengpur. This path is much revered in the Hindu religion as various key incidents of Lord Ram’s life is believed to have taken place on this path and it is for this purpose that a tourist circuit is being developed and promoted.

Presently, 15 Vande Bharat Express trains are running on different routes in the country.

To mention, while flagging off the 15th Vande Bharat Express for the Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur route, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that by the end of 2023, 75 Vande Bharat express trains would be operational in the country.

Now the blueprint of the proposed routes of the train is being prepared by the zonal railways and it will be sent to the Ministry of Railways.

Among these, Ram Van Gaman Path is one of the important routes which is being pitched in by the authorities along with BJP MP Kesri Devi Patel who has has raised the issue on different forums.

Another possible route wherein the Vande Bharat train could be introduced is on the Prayagraj-Lucknow-Gorakhpur route. Officials said if this route is chosen by the Railway Ministry, the Vande Bharat would start from Prayagraj Junction at around 6.20am and reach its destination at around 2.20pm.

In its return journey, the train could start around 3pm and reach Lucknow at around 7pm and Prayagraj at around 10.30pm.

Be it the Chitrakoot-Lucknow route via Prayagraj and Ayodhya or the Prayagraj-Gorakhpur route via the state capital, one thing is for sure that the passengers from both Prayagraj and Lucknow would be benefiting as their long-standing demand of having a semi-highspeed train between the two cities would be met.

Last year, the Railway Board had sought information from the North Eastern Railways (NER) for the time slot for operating a train between Prayagraj and Gorakhpur, officials said.

“If Vande Bharat train is to be introduced between Prayagraj and Lucknow, it could be either from Chitrakoot or Gorakhpur and in both the cases, it would be a boon for the passengers,” said BJP MP, Kesari Devi Patel.

Chief public relations officer of NCR, HS Upadhyay said, “The final decision of operating Vande Bharat on any given route is weighed and finalised by the Railway Board and in this case too, the final call will be taken by the Board.”