The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)- operated third train between Varanasi and Indore, the Kashi Mahakal Express, will begin its first commercial run from Thursday (20 February).
First Kashi Mahakal train, which will link Lord Shiva’s three jyotirlingas – Omkareshwar near Indore, Mahakaleshwar in Ujjain and Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi, will start from Varanasi this afternoon and will reach Indore tomorrow morning on the day of Maha Shivratri.
The train was flagged off on 16 February by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi, where he launched over 50 projects worth Rs 1,250 crore.
Till Wednesday (19 February), about 90 per cent of the berths were reserved. The railway officials said that 612 out of 648 berths were booked by 7 pm on Wednesday.
The new Kashi Mahakal Express will connect three places — Jyotirlinga-Omkareshwar (near Indore in Madhya Pradesh), Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh) and Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh).
The Kashi Mahakal Express will operate three days in a week and it will be a bi-weekly service through the Sultanpur-Lucknow route and a weekly service via the Prayagraj route.
The Varanasi-Indore Kashi Mahakal Express will depart from Varanasi at 2.45 pm every Tuesday and Thursday to reach Indore at 9.40 am on Wednesday and Friday.
Similarly, the train will start from Indore at 10.55 am every Wednesday and Friday and will reach Varanasi next morning at 6 am.
The train will have stoppages at Ujjain, Sant Hirdaram Nagar, Bina, Jhansi, Kanpur and Sultanpur stations in both directions.
Meanwhile, Kashi Mahakal Express will be a weekly service via Prayagraj route.
Varanasi-Indore Kashi Mahakal Express will depart from Varanasi at 3.15 pm every Sunday to reach Indore at 9.40 am the next day. Indore-Varanasi Express will depart from Indore at 10.55 am every Monday and reach Varanasi at 5 am the next day.
This train will halt at Ujjain, Sant Hirdaram Nagar, Bina, Jhansi, Kanpur and Prayagraj stations in both directions.
Chief Regional Manager of IRCTC Ashwini Shrivastava said that apart from giving high-class facilities, IRCTC is also offering tour packages of Omkareshvar, reports News On AIR.
The train will cover 1,131 km between Varanasi and Indore via Lucknow and a distance of 1,102 km between Varanasi and Indore via Prayagraj in approximately 19 hours.
Light devotional music, two dedicated private guards in every coach and only vegetarian meals are some of the features of the fully 3-AC service.