GUWAHATI, Feb 17 - The first-ever Astha Tourist Pilgrimage Train of the Indian Railway was flagged off from the Kamakhya Station this morning by Union Minister of State for Railway Rajen Gohain in the presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal.
Addressing the gathering, Gohain said that the Astha Tourist Pilgrimage Train is the first of its kind in the entire country and it has become a reality because of the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and initiative of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu. He requested Chief Minister Sonowal and his MLA colleagues to help in securing more patronage for the train. He called upon them to popularise the train among the pilgrims of the State, who can avail the service to visit various places of pilgrimage at very reasonable costs.
Gohain said Indian Railways is taking up various developmental projects on a priority basis for the north-eastern region and very soon, a Shatabdi train would start between Guwahati and Dibrugarh. He also said that the work on the electrification of railway tracks in the State would be launched by the end of the current month.
Chief Minister Sonowal thanked Gohain for taking pro-active steps in fulfilling several long-standing demands of the people of the State.
The Astha Circuit Tourist Train flagged off today will take tourists to a mix of various popular religious destinations, covering Gangasagar, Sri Swamy Narayan Temple, Kalighat, Birla Temple, Sri Jagannath Temple, Konark Temple and Lingaraj Temple.
The duration of the tour from Kamakhya and back is six nights and seven days, at a very nominal cost of Rs 850 per person per day barring taxes. The per person cost for the entire trip is Rs 6,161 (all inclusive) including breakfast, lunch, dinner, sleeper class accommodation and visit to various temples through local transport. All on-train services will be managed by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). Based on demand and patronage, more such pilgrim circuit trips will be taken up by the NF Railway for the benefit of the common man, a press release stated.