Indian Railways to run special trains for Char Dham Yatra

Indian Railways will soon start special train services to facilitate travel to the Char Dham, covering Badrinath, Jagannath Puri, Rameshwaram, and Dwarkadhish.

The decision comes in the wake of declining cases of Coronavirus across the country. As per the latest reports, after the success of Shri Ramayana Yatra train that catered the Ramayana circuit, Indian Railways is all set to launch special train to cater to another popular special Dekho Apna Desh Deluxe AC tourist train to cover the pilgrimage Chardham circuit.
Reportedly, it will be a 16-day tour that will start services on September 16 from Delhi Safdarjung Railway Station and cover destinations including Badrinath including Mana Village, Narsingh Temple (Joshimath), Rishikesh, Jagannath Puri, including Golden beach of Puri, Konark Sun Temple, Chandrabhaga beach, Rameshwaram including Dhanushkodi, and Dwarkadhish, including Nageshwar Jyotirlinga, Shivrajpur beach, and Bet Dwarka. This 16-day tour will cost IR 78585 per person.
Reports have it that the train is fully air-conditioned and has two types of accommodation on offer, 1st AC and 2nd AC. The tour package will cover train journey in AC classes, and accommodation in deluxe hotels, meals, transfer, and sightseeing in AC vehicles except for hilly areas, travel insurance and services of IRCTC Tour Managers.
Apart from all these, the IRCTC will also provide a safety kit to all the tourists, which will include gloves, masks, and sanitisers to ensure safety of travellers. Although the train has capacity to cater to 156 tourists, the booking has been restricted to around 120 travellers only, in view of safety measures post COVID-19.

Note, those planning to take this yatra must have received at least the first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine, and must be above 18 years or above.