Special train to follow in Lord Ram's steps

The Indian Railways on Wednesday flagged off a special tourist train — the long-awaited Shri Ramayana Express — that will run on the Ramayana circuit and cover major locations related to the Hindu epic.

"The Shri Ramayana Express departed from Safdarjung railway station with full capacity of 800 passengers on board. All the tickets for the special train were sold out within a week," a senior railway ministry official.

The train will complete its journey till Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, in 16 days, traversing all important destinations associated with the life of Lord Ram like Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Prayag along the way. Priced at Rs. 15,120 per person, the all meals, accommodation and wash and change facilities in dharmashalas, all transfers and sight-seeing arrangements. Additionally, for the full pilgrimage circuit, called the Shri Ramayana Yatra-Sri Lanka, and priced at Rs. 47,600 per person, it will also have the second travel component in Sri Lanka. Passengers opting for the Sri Lanka leg (around 4-5 days) will have to take a flight to Colombo from Chennai.

"The 16 days journey time has been kept to make the pilgrimage experience easy for all kinds of passengers. A dedicated tour manager from the IRCTC will travel with the pilgrims through the whole experience," said an official.