Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually flag off the inaugural Pravasi Bharatiya Express, a special tourist train for the diaspora, on Wednesday. The state-of-the-art tourist train will depart from the Nizamuddin station in Delhi and travel to multiple destinations over the next three weeks.
The train is exclusively for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) aged between 45 and 65, and aimed at connecting the diaspora to their cultural and spiritual roots. The train can accommodate 156 passengers.
The maiden journey of the train will begin only on Thursday and over the next three weeks will cover key tourist and pilgrimage sites, including Ayodhya, Patna, Gaya, Varanasi, Mahabalipuram, Rameswaram, Madurai, Kochi, Goa, Ekta Nagar (Kevadia), Ajmer, Pushkar, and Agra. The date January 09, 2025, has been chosen to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India on this date in the year 1915.
Tourists can visit Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Vishnupad and Mahabodhi temple in Patna, Viswanath temple in Kashi, Meenakshi temple in Madurai, among other pilgrimage sites. The Patna Saheb Gurudwara, Old churches in Fort Kochi and Ajmer Dargah are also included in the destination list.
The tour is being organised under the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana Scheme of the Ministry of External Affairs in collaboration with the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
Indian Embassies across the world had invited applications from participants, giving a preference to Persons of Indian Origins (PIOs) belonging to the low-income category who would otherwise not be able to afford to visit India on their own. The statement said the ministry will bear all expenses for the aforesaid conducted train tour besides also bearing 90% of the return airfares for the eligible people from their countries of origin to India. The participants need to bear only 10% of their return airfares.
The participants will be accommodated at 4-star or similar category hotels as per the tour itinerary.
