Come April 9, board Sikh pilgrimage train from Chandigarh

Chandigarh, April 6

Pilgrims planning to visit Sikh shrines outside Punjab can now board a “Guru Kirpa Yatra” special tourist train from the Chandigarh railway station. The train will commence journey from Amritsar on April 9 as part of the Bharat Gaurav series.

The Railways is for the first time operating the tourist train from the Holy City to connect three prominent gurdwaras at Nanded (Maharashtra), Bidar (Karnataka) and Patna (Bihar). The tourist train will cover 5,100 km over seven days.

It will connect Amritsar with Takht Hazur Sahib (Nanded) and Takht Patna Sahib (Bihar) — two of the five temporal seats of Sikhism. Gurdwara Sri Nanak Jhira Sahib at Bidar will also be part of the yatra.

The train with AC-II, AC-III and sleeper class coaches will accommodate a total of 600 tourists. It will have a pantry coach to serve vegetarian food to the pilgrims. Besides, it is equipped with infotainment system, CCTV cameras, etc.

Apart from Chandigarh, pilgrims can also board the train from Amritsar, Beas, Jalandhar Cantt, Ludhiana, New Morinda Junction, Ambala, Kurukshetra, and Delhi Safdarjung station.

The Railways has also tied up with Paytm and Razorpay payment gateways offering EMI payment options to pilgrims.

A sleeper class reservation will cost Rs 14,100, while the fare for AC third class has been fixed at Rs 24,200 and that of AC second class at Rs 32,300.

The tour package includes cost of food, AC hotel stay/bus travel for AC class passengers, non-AC hotels/gurdwaras and non-AC buses for sleeper class travellers. Facilities such as tour arrangement, guides, insurance, etc. will also be part of the package.

Railway officials say they have received queries regarding the special train and are expecting a good response. “We will take care of everything — board and lodging and travel. A special care will be taken of the elderly,” says a railway official.

The tour will culminate at Delhi from where the Railways will arrange travel to respective destinations of passengers.

Part of package

• Cost of food, AC hotel stay/bus travel for AC class passengers, non-AC stay/buses travel for sleeper class travellers
• Vegetarian food; infotainment system, CCTV cameras on board; tour arrangement, guides, insurance, etc.
• Payment gateways offering EMI options engaged by Rlys