NEW DELHI, DECEMBER 22: Indian Railways is all set to make a serious bid to bring foreign tourists to Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India. Come January 12, the Indian Railways Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will roll out Mahaparinirvan Express, a nine-coach air-conditioned train from Chennai, which will take passengers on a 15-day tour of key sites associated with Gautama Buddha.

The train will halt at Guntur, Aurangabad, Bhopal, Agra, Delhi, Gonda, Gorakhpur, Varanasi, Gaya and Bhubaneswar. At these places, passengers will be taken in special buses to the Buddhist sites nearby, such as Amravati, Ajanta and Ellora, Sanchi, Shrawasti, Sarnath, Bodhgaya, Nalanda and Rajgir.

The itinerary has been so arranged that passengers will travel on train by night and go sight-seeing by day.

“In addition to all the places of Buddhist interest in the country, passengers on this train will also get a chance to visit Lumbini in Nepal. They will cross over to Nepal when the train halts at Gorakhpur,” IRCTC’s managing director P.K Goel told The Indian Express.

The passengers will also be taken to Taj Mahal, Fatehpur Sikri, and some historic sites in Delhi as well.

Seven trips, commencing from January 12, January 28, February 13, March 4, March 25, April 24 and May 24, have already been planned.

“We will also allow passengers to avail part journey provided it is of minimum seven days and there is no break. So, if somebody doesn’t want to start from Chennai, we’ll allow him to board from Delhi and go on the rest of the journey. This limit of minimum seven days of journey may be relaxed further,” Goel said.

IRCTC has already procured a Rajdhani rake to run this train, and it will offer a total 366 berths in Ist, 2nd and 3rd AC carriages. The fare for AC I class is $ 120 per day per person, that for AC II class is $ 90, and AC II class $ 80.

“The fare includes on-board and off-board catering, house keeping, road transfer by luxury coaches, sightseeing and visit to holy places, hotel accommodations, all meals, entry tickets and fees for guides,” Goel said. Though meant primarily for foreign tourists, the train will also be open to Indians, who will pay the same fare in rupees.

To market the venture before a global audience, IRCTC has already appointed General Sales Agents in countries like Sri Lanka and has roped in some agents already involved in running tours to Buddhist sites from places in China, Myanmar, Thailand, Japan and Nepal. “As of now, tourist fly to a particular place, visit a Buddhist site and fly out. Ours is an concept where we are trying to integrate all the sites related to Buddha and offer a pilgrimage kind of an experience,” said Goel.