A traditional welcome of garlands and tilak, and people dressed as characters from the Ramayana, chanting Jai Shri Ram, greeted passengers at the Safdarjung railway station in Delhi, from where the first Ramayana Express was flagged off on Wednesday.
The travellers, mostly retired officials, were surprised by the arrangements made by the railways and even sought the blessings of “Hanuman, Sita and Ram”.
The ‘Ramayana circuit’, covering locations associated with the Hindu epic, is turning into a new mode of revenue for the Indian Railways— it has announced the launch of three more Ramayana Express trains from different parts of the country after getting a good response for the first one, which was flagged off on Wednesday.
“It’s a good step by the government. I would have never imagined travelling to so many destinations at one go. But thanks to the efforts by the railways, people like us, who are aged, can safely visit places associated with Lord Ram,” Tilak Singh Chauhan, 74-year-old retired Border Security Force personnel, said. He had come from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh to board the train from Delhi.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will run the train, which will cover Ayodhya, the birthplace of Ram, according to the Ramayana. They will also go to other locations mentioned in the epic, such as Hanuman Garhi, Ramkot and the Kanak Bhawan temple.
{{/usCountry}}The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will run the train, which will cover Ayodhya, the birthplace of Ram, according to the Ramayana. They will also go to other locations mentioned in the epic, such as Hanuman Garhi, Ramkot and the Kanak Bhawan temple.
{{/usCountry}}The trains will make stops at Nandigram, Sitamarhi, Janakpur, Varanasi, Prayag, Shringaverpur, Chitrakoot, Nasik, Hampi and Rameshwaram, or at the railway stations nearest to these locations. The railways will facilitate trips by road from the station to the pilgrimage sites, a senior IRCTC official, who asked not to be named, said.
“I have visited some of the places but in the absence of a package tour, some places such as Sitamarhi and Hampi eluded us. We are happy to be part of this new initiative,” 72-year-old Pushplata from Rajpura in Punjab said.
The trains will have sleeper class coaches for 800 passengers. Those interested in a separate Sri Lanka-leg of the circuit can opt to travel by air to Colombo from Chennai, the second official added.
The IRCTC is targeting religious tourism to generate revenue and has asked the railways board to allow it to buy three trains to be run on the routes identified by it. The IRCTC already runs a Buddha circuit train, which are luxury coaches, mostly intended for foreign tourists.