The Indian Railways (IRCTC) has introduced the Bharat Gaurav Deluxe Tourist Train, which is set to depart from the New Delhi Safrdurjung Railway Station on March 21, according to a press release. The train will complete a North East Circuit — covering Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya — for 15 days.
The Indian Railways launched the Bharat Gaurav scheme in 2021 to provide a fillip to Indian tourism and attract tourists from all over the world. The scheme promotes “theme-based” train services that will be run by private players.
The theme for the North East circuit is “North East Discovery: Beyond Guwahati”.
The Deluxe AC trains can accommodate a total of 156 tourists, and are air-conditioned with AC 1 and AC 2 tiers.
The ticket price range starts from ₹1,06,990 per person in AC 2 Tier, ₹1,31,990 per person for AC 1 cabins, and ₹1,49,290 per Person for AC 1 coupe. The ticket is inclusive of train journeys, hotel stays, all vegetarian meals, transfer costs and sightseeing in respective cities, and travel insurance, among other costs.
Tourists can also avail of an EMI payment option for the trip, as IRCTC has partnered up with PayTm and Razorpay payment gateways.
The travel route of the train covers 11 places: Guwahati, Sivasagar, Jorhat and Kaziranga in Assam; Unakoti, Agartala and Udaipur in Tripura; Dimapur and Kohima in Nagaland; Shillong and Cherapunji in Meghalaya.
Boarding and de-boarding will be allowed from Delhi, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Tundla, Itawah, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi.
Bharat Gaurav express trains are operated by private players, who have the right to use the rail infrastructure provided by the Indian Railways, in a bid to show India’s cultural heritage and spotlight a rich history.
“The objective of Bharat Gaurav Train services is to showcase our country’s rich cultural heritage and magnificent historical places to the people of India and the world,” Jose Charles Martin, MD of M&C Group, toldThe Hindu last year.
The first Bharat Gaurav train started from Coimbatore in June last year.
