'Navratri Special Tourist Train' for Katra's Mata Vaishno Devi : IRCTC

IRCTC has announced the Special Tourist Train which will commence its maiden run for Katra's Mata Vaishno Devi on September 30, 2022 during Navratri festive season.

New Delhi:Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Railways on Wednesday announced the launch of the 'Navratri Special Tourist Train' for Mata Vaishno Devi Katra with newly launched Bharat Gaurav Rake from September 30.

Looking to the success of Ramayana Circuit, operated by IRCTC Ltd in June 2022, a journey on a new sector has been announced considering the festive period. The Special Tourist Train will commence its maiden run for Katra on September 30, 2022.

This train tour of the duration of four nights -five days shall commence from Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station having 11 dedicated 3 Tier AC Coaches, which can accommodate in total of 600 tourists in one fixed departure. Tourists of Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Ambala, Sirhind, and Ludhiana can avail of this special train tour package.

It is notable that during Navratri lakhs of devotees every year plan to visit this Shrine situated in Jammu and Kashmir. Getting Confirmed train availability has always been a challenge due to the heavy rush in this sector during this period. Foreseeing the huge demand, IRCTC has decided to launch this package to facilitate the pilgrims during this august period of Navratri.

Giving information about this tour package, CPRO of IRCTC Anand Kumar Jha said that at a price starting from Rs 11,990 per person on a Double Occupancy basis, this train tour package is an all-inclusive offering from IRCTC Ltd.

"The all-inclusive package price will cover train journey in 3rd AC, night stay at AC hotels, all meals (veg only), all transfer and sight-seeing in buses, travel insurance and services of guide etc. All necessary health precautionary measures will be taken care of by providing safe and healthy travel during the tour. Staff shall be screened thoroughly and kitchen will be cleaned and sanitized after every meal service," he said.

Jha said that the COVID-19 final vaccination is mandatory for all guests of the age of 18 years and above. IRCTC will make efforts to provide a safe and memorable experience to the guests, he added. He also informed that in order to make this package more attractive and affordable to a large population, IRCTC has tied up with Paytm and Razorpay payment gateways for providing EMI payment options for breaking the total payment in small amounts EMIs.

"Users can avail of the EMI payment option for making payments in 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 or 24-month EMIs. These EMI payment options can be made through Debit/Credit Cards. Government/ PSU employees can avail of LTC facility on this tour as per eligibility based on the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India," he said.

It is worth mentioning that Bharat Gaurav Train is a newly launched product of the Ministry of Railways for which IRCTC has a mandate to operate this train on places of touristic importance in the country and thus to promote theme-based tourism.

The 14 Coaches 3 AC IRCTC Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train that is under vent full-scale refurbishment at the Alambagh Coach Factory at Lucknow boosts of some of the best in class amenities and services including aesthetically designed interiors to ensure the utmost comfort of the passengers.

The designs on the external view of the coaches of the train highlight diverse themes of culture, customs and traditions of India through the "Bharat Gaurav" Concept. Every Coach of the train has been designed as a kaleidoscope of "Pride of India - "Bharat Gaurav" highlighting various facets of India such as monuments, dances, cuisines, attires, festivals, flora and fauna, yoga, folk art and so on.

This year in the month of June 2022 this train started its maiden run by facilitating 500 tourists on Ramayana Yatra Circuit, which turned out to be a huge success. This fully air-conditioned tourist train will comprise of eleven 3rd AC coaches, one pantry car and two SLRs.

Freshly cooked vegetarian meals/Falahaari Food will be served on board to the guests on their respective seats from the well-equipped pantry car. The train has also been fitted with an infotainment system for the entertainment of passengers as well as for public announcements. From clean toilets to enhanced security features of CCTV Cameras and Security Guards for each coach have also been provided for the tourists.

Passengers can get detailed information to visit the IRCTC website: https://www.irctctourism.com and booking is available online, on a first come first serve basis on the web portal. They can also contact on IRCTC Mobile numbers. (ANI)