South Central Railway’s first “Divya Dakshin Yatra with Jyotirlinga” southern circuit pilgrim train covering Tiruvannamalai [Arunachalam], Rameshwaram, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Trivandrum, Trichy and Thanjavur commenced its first journey from Secunderabad railway station on Wednesday.
It is part of the Bharat Gaurav trains by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and has been planned as a new tourist ‘Jyotirlinga’ circuit during Shravan month. It provides a unique opportunity to pilgrims from the two Telugu States to visit important pilgrim tourist centres in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
A couple from Lucknow and one of the travellers got the honour of flagging off the first service as they had come from up north to experience the pilgrim centres in south India.
The train provides boarding/de-boarding facility for passengers in Secunderabad, Kazipet, Warangal and Khammam in Telangana, and Vijayawada, Tenali, Ongole, Nellore, Gudur and Renigunta in Andhra Pradesh. The entire trip will be covered over a period of eight nights or nine days, said an official release.
The train provides opportunity to both AC and Non-AC passengers with a mixed composition – 2 AC (1), 3 AC (3) and Sleeper (7). SCR GM Arun Kumar Jain has hailed the new pilgrim circuit where citizens can visit the culturally-prominent and historical places without the hassle of making individual itineraries. IRCTC group general manager P. Rajkumar and other officials were present during the inaugural run. It is the 10th successive run of pilgrim specials in the last few months.
