Aboard the government’s first ‘Bharat Gaurav’ train with yoga coaches

The first ‘Bharat Gaurav’ train will come with two coaches that have no berths. Passengers can practice yoga here. Repesentational picture

The first tourist train under the Union government’s “Bharat Gaurav” scheme is set to depart from Delhi’s Safdarjung railway station on 21 June. However, this is no run-off-the-mill train, it comes with its own share of twists. We take a look.

What is the Bharat Gaurav Scheme?

The Bharat Gaurav scheme was launched by Indian Railways in November to promote tourism and business. The trains will be operated by private players on theme-based circuits.

Through this policy, the Railways has liberalised part of the operation that was carried out mostly by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

According to the Bharat Gaurav policy, any service provider or operator can lease trains from Indian Railways to run on a theme-based circuit as a special tourism package. While it is targeted at tour operators, even state governments can run these trains.

However, the operator has to take end-to-end responsibility for the tour apart from simply running the trains. This means they are in charge of hotel stays, food, sightseeing, local travel, and any other requirements of the passengers. These trains, however, cannot be used as regular trains for transport.

What’s the theme of the first train?

The first “Bharat Gaurav” train will take travelers to destinations that are associated with the life of Lord Ram in India and Nepal. The 10-coach train being operated on the Shri Ramayana Yatra Circuit will be theme-based, with each train coach depicting India’s culture and traditions.

Interestingly, Bharat Gaurav will also be the first tourist train service to cross international borders and travel to the neighbouring country Nepal. It will also be the first such train for tourists with all third AC class coaches, where the backrest of the lower berth doubles up as a middle berth.

This tour will span over 18 days, covering a distance of 8,000 kilometres. The train can accommodate around 600 passengers with each passenger having to shell out Rs 65,000.

Over its 18-day journey, the train will cover 12 major tourist destinations associated with Lord Ram -— Ayodhya and Kashi n Uttar Pradesh, Chitrakoot in Madhya Pradesh, Buxar and Sitamarhi in Bihar, Nashik in Maharashtra, Hampi in Karnataka, Rameshwaram and Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu and Bhadrachalam in Telangana. The train will also go to Janakpur in Nepal and the journey will end in Delhi.

The first train will start its journey on 21 June, International Yoga Day.

What’s the connection to Yoga Day?

Two coaches on the train will have no berth. This is to give ample space for passengers to practice yoga during their trip. There will also be trained yoga instructors on board.

“India’s first Bharat Gaurav tourist train on Shri Ramayana Yatra Circuit will have different themes for all coaches and yoga is one of the themes. Passengers will be able to perform yoga. Apart from being designed to perform yoga, these two coaches will have yoga instructors too,” a railway official told Hindustan Times.

How many tickets are sold so far?

According to an IRTC official, 450 tickets have been already sold for the maiden train.

How many coaches have been assigned to the scheme?

A total of 3,033 conventional Internal Coach Factory-designed coaches have been reserved for the scheme. Operators of various circuits will be allowed to buy rakes from the production units of Indian Railways.

The operators can change furnishings within the train coaches as long as they comply with safety norms, but cannot allow for activities that are prohibited by railway laws like serving alcohol on the trains.

What will be the role of the Indian Railways?

The Railways will provide drivers, guards, and other maintenance staff on board for the coaches. It will also ensure that its entire infrastructure is in place to safely and efficiently host the train in its network, according to a report in The Indian Express. It will also give priority to these trains like the Rajdhani, so they are not held up or sidelined to make way for regular trains.

With inputs from agencies

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