The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on Wednesday said its third corporate train between Varanasi and Indore will begin commercial operations from February 20.
Named ‘Kashi Mahakal Express’, the superfast air-conditioned train will be inaugurated on February 16.
The other two private trains run by the IRCTC are the Lucknow-New Delhi Tejas Express and the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express.
Host of facilities
The IRCTC said it will also offer tour packages covering religious sites on the train’s route. “Being the first long-distance overnight journey train, the IRCTC has geared up to provide a host of facilities and services to passengers, including high-quality vegetarian food, on-board bedrolls and housekeeping services, and on-board security services,” it said, adding that every passenger travelling on the train will be covered with a complimentary travel insurance of ₹10 lakh during the journey.
The train will have an advance reservation period of 120 days, and only general and foreign tourist quotas.
The train will connect Jyotirlinga-Omkareshwar (near Indore), Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain) and Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi), besides connecting the industrial and educational hub of Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
Thrice weekly
The Kashi Mahakal Express will operate thrice a week between Varanasi and Indore via Ujjain, Sant Hiradnagar (Bhopal), Bina, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow/Prayagraj and Sultanpur,” the IRCTC said.
The tour packages will cover Kashi, Omkareshwar, Mahakaleshwar, Bhopal, Sanchi, Ujjain, Bhimbetka, Ayodhya and Prayag, according to the statement.
