The private special train to Varanasi began its 10-day journey from Coimbatore North railway station on Sunday. The service, under the Bharat Gaurav Scheme of the Railways and South Star, will go via Prayagraj and Ayodhya, according to an official.
South Star, a Coimbatore-based private sector service provider for locomotives for special tourist destinations, will refurbish the interior and exterior of the coaches, provide food and appoint bouncers and volunteers.
An official said 470 passengers had booked for the service and about 130 boarded at Coimbatore.
“There are nine boarding points, including Tiruppur and Erode. Since this is a special service, there will not be a fixed arrival date at Varanasi and may reach there by February 17-18. Passengers will be visiting Triveni Sangam, Ram Janmabhoomi, Gaya, river Ganga and Kashi Vishwanath temple on Mahashivratri and return to Coimbatore on February 20,” he said.
The rate for dormitories ranged from a minimum ₹16,500 for sleeper class to ₹18,750 for A/C coaches. Passengers, who needed rooms paid an additional ₹6,000, he added.
More destinations
A special train will be run to Shirdi in Maharashtra on March 27, ahead of Ram Navami, and passengers can visit Sai Baba temple in Shirdi, the Panduranga temple in Pandaripuram in Maharashtra and Sri Raghavendra Swamy Mutt, Mantralayam in Andhra Pradesh, a press release read.
The six-day trip will cost a minimum of ₹9,950.
Another special to Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Kashmir will be operated from April 19 and travellers will be taken to Haridwar, Vaishno Devi, Amritsar, Jaipur, Delhi, Agra and Mathur, according to the release. The trip will be for 13 days with a base fare of ₹29,750.
