New Delhi: Shri Ram-Janaki Yatra, a theme-based train route from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh to Janakpur in Nepal, was among the five most preferred tourist circuits in 2023, the Indian Railways said recently. The other four equally popular circuits were the Shri Jagannath Yatra, 'Garvi Gujarat' tour, the Ambedkar circuit, and the North-East tour, the railways said in a statement. According to the railways, it operated 172 trips of 'Bharat Gaurav' trains last year and these five routes fetched the highest number of train trips and tourists.
Indian Railways introduced the concept of operating tourist trains on theme-based circuits under the banner of 'Bharat Gaurav' trains, the railways said. These theme-based tourist circuit trains aim to showcase India's rich cultural heritage and magnificent historical places," it added. In these 172 trips of Bharat Gaurav trains, 96,491 tourists travelled to various tourist destinations across the nation, spread over 24 states and Union territories. The journey undertaken on these trains is offered in the form of comprehensive tour packages wherein services like off-board travel and excursions by buses, stay at hotels, tour guides, meals, travel insurance, etc are provided along with comfortable train journey and allied onboard services, the statement said.
Ministry of Railways has given a concerted thrust for the promotion of domestic tourism through the provision of rail-based tourism with better quality coaches under the Bharat Gaurav train scheme. This is also in line with the government's initiatives Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' and Dekho Apna Desh' to encourage domestic tourism, it further said.