Developing religious tourism

After the Mahaparinirvan Express, IRCTC now flags off the Panj Takht Special train in a bid to bolster the development of religious tourism.

Continuing its bid to focus on religious tourism, IRCTC has come up with a special train for Sikh pilgrims. The Panj Takht Special includes a 9- night/ 10- day package tour, ex- Dhuri, in Sangrur District, Punjab. Vijay

Inder Singla, MP from Sangrur, who flagged off the Panj Takht Special Train, said " This train will be taking the devotees to the Panj Takhts, which have a great significance for Sikhs. Through this, the 10- day journey to the sacred Takhts which are located in three different States can now be covered at a low cost, which was not possible earlier.”

The train will have a round trip from Dhuri to Dhuri and will take tourists to the famous Takhts situated in various parts of the country like Sri Hazoor Sahib at Nanded, Sri Patna Sahib at Patna, Sri Damdama Sahib in Bhatinda, Sri Harmandir Sahib (Sri Akal Takht Sahib) at Amritsar and Sri Keshgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib.

This package will enable devotees to visit and worship all the sacred Takhts, which are scattered over three different States of the country, in a single trip. Special arrangements were made for the night stay for passengers at Takht Sahibs, wherever required. Keeping in mind the elderly passengers, onboard security and housekeeping services have also been provided. Tour escorts accompany the tourists during the visit of the Takht Sahibs at various destinations. The train has 7 sleeper class coaches and one pantry car. The all-inclusive cost of the 10-day trip is

8,250 per person.

Passengers can book their tickets online at IRCTC’s tourism portal www.railtourismindia.com. At the function,

Rakesh Tandon, MD, IRCTC, announced that on March 21 and April 18 more Panj Takht Special trains will run.

Singla also informed that the new Sri Ganganagar to Jammu Tawi train (announced in the recent rail budget) will run via Dhuri. He further stated that he has requested the Railway Minister to extend the Andaman Express to Katra, once the Udhampur - Katra section is operational to have direct rail connectivity with Mata Vaishno Devi shrine. At present, Andaman Express travels between Chennai and Jammu three times a week via Lehragaga, Sunam, Sangrur, Dhuri and Malerkotla.