Second Punya Kshetra Yatra of Bharat Gaurav train kicks off, 3 more planned in summer

HYDERABAD: A second pilgrimage train, ‘Punya Kshetra Yatra’, under the Bharat Gaurav series, started from the Secunderabad Railway Station on Tuesday, with a 100 per cent occupancy.

Over the course of the tour, the 700-odd passengers will be taken to Puri, Konark, Gaya, Varanasi, Ayodhya and Prayagraj before returning to the city.

Due to an overwhelming response to the initiative, officials said another three trips — from April 29, May 13 and May 27 — are decided for the summer for the two Telugu states.

The pilgrimage train is an initiative by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and South Central Railways (SCR). The SCR also extended a 33 per cent discount to those who signed up for the second edition of the service.

Arun Kumar Jain, general manager of SCR, said that the train offers a unique opportunity to pilgrims to visit culturally prominent places without the hassle of planning individual itinerary items.

He also appealed to tour operators to utilise the Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train concept to set up theme-based tours by owning or leasing railway coaches.