Friday, 21 June 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) in collaboration with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) launched a special train from Madurai to Rishikesh. Named Kedar Badri Kartik (Murugan) Koil Yathirai, the special train started its inaugural run from Madurai on Thursday. The train has boarding points at Chennai, Vijayawada, Warangal, Nagpur, Bhopal, Jhansi, Gwalior and Agra. During the 12-night/13-day journey, travellers will have the opportunity to visit Kedarnath Dham, Badrinath Dham and Kartik Swami Temple. Additionally, passengers are being served traditional pahari dishes.
Speaking on the matter, the chief executive officer at UTDB Sachin Kurve stated that after the successful runs of the train to various tourist destinations in the Kumaon division, the Kedar Badri Kartik (Murugan) tourist train is now being introduced for the Garhwal region. Plans are also underway to operate the train from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in July.
Kurve emphasised that this initiative by the UTDB is the first of its kind in India and aims to promote tourism in lesser-known places through a tourist train.
The train journey features 3AC accommodations with only four berths booked in each compartment to ensure convenience for tourists.
He further informed that the train would showcase Uttarakhand’s rich natural, cultural, architectural and spiritual heritage. The pantry car coach will offer various dishes of Uttarakhand cuisine while one coach will showcase folk festivals and another will feature people wearing traditional costumes of the State. Temples and other important places would also be depicted on the train coaches, he added.
To recall, boosting tourism in Uttarakhand, UTDB had recently launched a special tourist train named Manaskhand Express which has been successfully taking tourists to various major and lesser-known tourist destinations across Kumaon division.
