The Hindu : New Delhi News : Now daily Rajdhani service for Vaishno Devi pilgrims

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Saturday, Jun 28, 2008
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Now daily Rajdhani service for Vaishno Devi pilgrims

Sandeep Joshi

NEW DELHI: For the convenience of passengers visiting Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has decided to enhance the frequency of the Jammu Rajdhani Express from weekly to daily from this coming July 1 besides offering a tourism package to make the pilgrimage hassle-free.

“In view of the heavy demand from people, we have not only decided to run the Jammu Rajdhani Express connecting Delhi to Jammu on a daily basis from next week, we have also increased the number of seats in the tour package from 20 to 36 to accommodate more devotees,” said a senior IRCTC official.

Boon for devotees

Though there are several trains connecting Delhi and Jammu, there is a lot of rush on this route, mainly due to lakhs of devotees visiting the shire all the year round. The rush is even greater during weekends and on holidays. The increase in the frequency of the Rajdhani and running of special trains would facilitate passengers visiting the shrine.

IRCTC has also launched a daily “Mata Vaishno Devi package” that begins from Delhi. “It is a three-night four-day package where passengers are given to-and-fro tickets of the Jammu Rajdhani Express. Arrangements include confirmed reservation in AC 3 tier, dinner on board and welcome drinks at Jammu Tawi station on arrival in the morning,” said the official.

From Jammu, the passengers are transferred to Katra by road where they check in at a hotel into air-conditioned rooms. After breakfast at the hotel, they are dropped at Banganga for the 12-km trek to the holy cave of Vaishno Devi in the folds of the Trikuta hills. The railway package also include lunch or dinner for the “yatra” and “darshan” trips.

The package fare per passenger is Rs.3,950 per head (adult) and Rs.2,200 per child, the official said, adding that all other details about the package are available at the website www.railtourismindia.com .

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