With Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Sh. Suresh Prabhu’s vision to make North East a ‘Destination’, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) announced the launch of an all-inclusive ‘AASTHA CIRCUIT TOURIST TRAIN from Guwahati on 17.02.2017, which would take travellers to a mix of popular pilgrimage destinations across the eastern part of the country at affordable rates.
The ‘AASTHA CIRCUIT TOURIST TRAIN’ from Guwahati is in line with the PM’s focus on removing NE isolation through pro-active Act East Policy
For the first time, this type of special dedicated tourist train is being originated from NF Railway. This is a very unique concept where a dedicated tourist train will be originating from Guwahati. The tourist train will take the tourists to various religious destinations, covering Gangasagar, Kolkata – Sri Swamy Narayan Temple, Kalighat, Birla Temple, Puri – Sri Jagannath Temple, Konark Temple, and Bhubaneswar – Lingaraj Temple.
The tourist train will have various boarding stations enroute, viz. Kamakhya, Alipur Duar, New Cooch Behar, New Jalpaiguri, Malda, New Farakka, Pakur, Rampurhat and Bolpur.
The services will include all train travel by the special tourist train in Sleeper Class, all meals throughout the tour (veg meals), accommodations in dormitories / Dharamshalas, non – ac tourist busses for visiting places of interest, security guards on board in every coach, IRCTC officer as train Superintendent along with on – board public address system for announcements.
The duration of the tour from Guwahati to Guwahati is 6 Nights and 7 Days, at a very nominal cost of ₹ 850.00 per person per day + Applicable taxes. The per person cost for the entire trip is ₹ 6161.00 (all inclusive). The trip will start from Guwahati on 17.02.2017 and would end at Guwahati on 23.02.2017.
Tourists who intend to avail the services may book the same online from www.irctctourism.com or through registered e-ticket agents or from any office of IRCTC.
A similar fashioned tourist train is also being planned to run from other parts towards Assam and nearby areas, therefore giving a boost to the inbound tourism of Assam. Upon seeing the response, the second trip of the Aastha Circuit Tourist train again from Guwahati or nearby area will be shortly.
Buoyed by the central government’s support, the inaugural run of the tourist train will set pace to the promotion of NE, which is rich in cultural heritage and bio diversity.