New Delhi:
The Indian Railways will run 16 special trains from October connecting various important pilgrimage sites of the country, said a railway ministry release Friday.
Rechristened "Bharat Tirth", these trains, besides promoting pilgrimage tourism, would also emphasise the country's culture of unity-in-diversity, said the release.
The trains would run in keeping with Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's budgetary promise of launching special tourist trains connecting various pilgrimage sites in the country, said the release.
In her 2010 budget speech, Banerjee had promised to run "Bharat Tirth" trains, connecting popular tourist sites in different parts of the country - from the Himalayas to Kanyakumari, from Dwarka to Vindhya Parbat, from Ajmer Sharief to Gangasagar and from Madurai to Patna Sahib.
The objective of the Indian Railways in running these trains is to provide a comfortable, affordable and memorable experience to the passengers of different segments, the release said.
The itineraries of these trains would be so designed that the passengers would be taken to the rail heads nearest to the destination, stated the release.
From the various rail heads, the tourists would visit various places of tourist importance, said the release adding that the road journey for sightseeing would be organised in comfortable buses with tour escorts accompanying them in trains as well as buses.