New Delhi| March,21 : Union Minister Of State For External Affairs and Culture Meenakasi Lekhi on Tuesday flagged off Bharat Gaurav Deluxe A.C. Tourist “North East Discovery: Beyond Guwahati” in presence of Additional General Manager,Northern Railway, Ashutosh Pant, CMD, IRCTC Rajni Hasija, DRM/Delhi Division Dimpy Garg and other senior officials .
Officials said that the tourist trip has been launched for five States of North East Region Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Tripura and Meghalaya . The capacity in the said tourist train Bharat Gaurab Deluxe A.C Tourist is 156 .Passengers can board/deboard at Delhi, Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Tundla, Itawah, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi. Railway Station enroute Visit of Guwahati, Sivasagar, Jorhat & Kaziranga in Assam, Unakoti, Agartala & Udaipur in Tripura, Dimapur & Kohima in Nagaland and Shillong & Cherapunji in Meghalaya will be the major attraction in the tour itinerary. The tourist train is fitted with two well-equipped rail restaurant, Infotainment system, CCTV camera. In the Bharat Gaurav AC Tourist Trains 15 days’ special tour , the facility of EMI payment option has been extended to the customers . were also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasionMeenakashi Lekhi, said that this is the 14th tourist train in the financial year and truly fulfilling the Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat concept of India. “North East Discovery: Beyond Guwahati”, a specially designed tour to cover the lesser known North eastern states of India by Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist train. will cover Guwahati, Sivasagar, Jorhat & Kaziranga in Assam, Unakoti, Agartala & Udaipur in Tripura, Dimapur & Kohima in Nagaland and Shillong & Cherapunji in Meghalaya in 15 days tour.
Spanning over 14 nights and 15 days, the first stop of this train is Guwahati where tourists will visit Kamakhya Temple followed by Umananda Temple and a sunset cruise on the Brahmaputra. This train will further depart on overnight journey for Naharlagun Railway Station which is 30 kms from the next destination Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh. The next city to follow is Sivasagar – the old capital of the Ahom Kingdom in Eastern part of Assam. The famous Shiva temple at Sivasagar, Sivadol is a part of the itinerary besides other heritage sites. Further the tea gardens at Jorhat and an overnight stay at Kaziranga followed by an early morning jungle safari at Kaziranga National Park will be experienced by the tourists.
The Deluxe AC Tourist Train next departs from the Furcating Railway Station for the state of Tripura where the sightseeing of famous heritage site of Unakoti and of Agartala including the famous Ujjayanta Palace. On the next day, the Neermahal palace and Tripura Sundari mandir at Udaipur will be covered in the itinerary. Post Tripura, the train departs to Dimapur for visiting the state of Nagaland. The scenic train journey between Badarpur station to Lumping Jn can be witnessed by the guests in the early hours of the morning from their seats. From Dimapur station tourists shall be taken to Kohima by buses for visiting the local sites including a tour of the Khonoma village to experience the Naga way of life. The next halt for the tourist train will be Guwahati and tourist will be taken to Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya by road with a pit stop at the majestic Umium Lake enroute. The next day starts with an excursion to Cherrapunji nestled in the East Khasi Hills. Shillong Peak, Elephant Falls, Nawkhalikai Falls and Mawsmai caves are a part of the day’s sightseeing. From Cherrapunji the tourists travel back to Guwahati Station to board the train for the return train journey to Delhi. Guests will be travelling roughly 5800 Kms in this entire tour by train.
The modern Deluxe AC Tourist Train has a host of amazing features including two fine dining restaurants, a contemporary kitchen, shower cubicles in coaches, sensor-based washroom functions, a foot massager, and a mini library. The fully air-conditioned train provides two types of accommodation viz. AC I and AC II. The train has enhanced security features like CCTV cameras, electronic safes, and dedicated security guards appointed for each coach. The Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train launch is in line with the Government of India initiatives “Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat” and “Dekho Apna Desh” to promote domestic tourism. At a price range starting from Rs.1,06,990/- per person in AC 2 Tier, Rs.1,31,990/- per person for AC 1 (Cabin), and Rs.1,49,290/- Per Person for AC 1 (Coupe) the Railway tourist train will be a 15 days’ all-inclusive tour package. Tourists can also board/ de-board at Ghaziabad, Aligarh, Tundla, Etawah,Kanpur, and Varanasi stations on this train.
To ensure safety measures in the present COVID-19 scenario, full vaccination (double doses) for guests of age group 18 or above is mandatory. Besides, Railway will also provide a safety kit to all tourists, which would include a face mask, hand gloves, and sanitizer. Regular temperature checking of all tourists and staff, frequent train sanitization at halt stations, etc, and other precautions has also been adopted. Staff shall be screened thoroughly and kitchen & restaurants shall be sanitized after every meal service. In order to make this package more attractive and affordable to a large population, an EMI payment option for breaking the total payment into small amounts EMIs is available. Booking is available online, on a first come first serve basis on the web portal: https://www.irctctourism.com.
