22 December 2011

Tourist train

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation's Bharat Darshan tourist train will start from Madurai on January 4.
It will cover Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Shoranur, Palakkad, Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Ajantha, Ellora, Shirdi, Mysore, Bangalore, and return to Madurai on January 14.
This train is meant exclusively for tourists. The cost of the package tour is Rs.5,650. The duration of the tour is 11 days.
The cost includes sleeper class train tickets, hall accommodation wherever night stay is planned, buses for local sightseeing, and vegetarian food.
Apart from the Bharat Darshan tour, the IRCTC is operating a rail tour package to Tirupati from Alappuzha on January 22.
Details are available from the tourism facilitation centres in Thiruvananthapuram (0471 - 2329339) and Ernakulam (0484 - 6464849.) Details are also available at railtourismindia.com.