KATHMANDU, JUNE 21

The inaugural Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train, connecting destinations associated with Ramayana Circuit in Nepal and India, is scheduled to arrive at Janakpur Dham station on June 23.

The train carrying 500 Indian tourists on board was flagged off today from Delhi Railway Station jointly by India's Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region G Kishan Reddy.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)'s Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train will be first-of-its-kind to cross the international borders and promote tourism in a more holistic manner, as per a media release issued here by the Embassy of India.

The train operating on the Ramayana Circuit will also cover the religious destination of Janakpur for the first time in addition to other popular destinations such as Ayodhya, Nandigram, Sitamarhui, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Panchvati (Nasik), Hampi, Rameshwaram and Bhadrachalam.

Every coach of the train has been designed as a kaleidoscope of 'Pride of India - Bharat Gaurav' highlighting various facets of India such as monuments, dances, cuisines, attire, festivals, flora and fauna, Yoga, folk art and so on.

Promoting theme-based tourism and highlighting the various UNESCO World Heritage sites as well as modern architectural marvels of India, the exterior of a number of coaches are wrapped with images of structures dating from the Buddhist era, Mughal era, and modern structures like the Statute of Unity at Kewadia, Gujarat, and the National War Memorial at New Delhi. Two coaches on the IRCTC Bharat Gaurav Tourist train are exclusively dedicated to yoga, which in recent years has been popularised throughout the world.

The train has 14 coaches and the exteriors of some of the coaches also promote the various classical and folk dance forms, attire, popular festivals, delicacies of India.

The train is expected to further boost tourism in Nepal and India.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 22, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.