NEW DELHI: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is all set to launch a new Buddhist circuit special luxury train, Maha-Parinirvan Special, from Wednesday. It will cover prominent Buddhist pilgrim centres in India and Nepal and end with a viewing of the Taj Mahal.

The train will start from the Safdarjung Railway Station here and cover places such as Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Rajgir, Varanasi, Shravasti and Lumbini (Nepal), besides the Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri during the one-week journey.

"We are aiming at giving a new meaning to pilgrim tourism. This will provide the first major link to all Buddhist pilgrim spots in India and Nepal in the environs of luxury and comfort. We expect a large number of package tours and foreign tourists to take up this exciting new offering," IRCTC Managing Director P.K. Goel said.

To discover glory

An attempt had been made to discover the glory of the holy land of Buddha through this new venture.

The train was aimed at promoting Buddhist tourism in the country and targeted tourists from South East Asian nations such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, he said.

The fully air-conditioned train offered a complete package with facilities such as plush accommodation, food in star hotels and road travel by luxury buses. Besides, the IRCTC would also assist the foreign tourists in getting visas.

Mr. Goel said the beauty of the entire package was that once passengers boarded the train everything was taken care of by the Railways.

The train offered an attractive fare structure. From October to March, the fare would be $150 a day for a passenger in first AC, $105 in second AC and $88 in AC three-tier.

The fare was relatively cheaper during April-September. It would be $140 a day for a passenger in first AC, $98 in second AC and $80 in AC three-tier, he said.

The new package comes close on the heels of the recent Vaishnoo Devi pilgrimage tour by the IRCTC that has received a tremendous response.

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