The first special train 'Aastha' from Kerala to Ayodhya commenced its journey today (Feb 09) at 10 am from Kochuveli.
Thiruvananthapuram: The first special train from Kerala to Ayodhya commenced its journey on Friday (Feb 9) from Kochuveli at 10 am. The Ayodhya Yatra is being organized under the leadership of the BJP. Though the passengers have to pay for the ticket, the party will make arrangements for food, accommodation and sightseeing.
The first ‘Aastha’ special train from Kerala comes in the wake of the consecration ceremony of the newly-built Ram temple at Ayodhya and will be operated by IRCTC. The ticket price from Kochuveli to Ayodhya is Rs 3300. Earlier it was announced that special train services would be run from Nagercoil, Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad. It was announced that the first service would start on January 30, however, later it was cancelled.
According to official sources, the non-AC sleeper train is not a regular train and will run on the same schedule as the IRCTC-operated Bharat Darshan tourist trains. It is anticipated that devotees from all around India will travel to Ayodhya on special trains called Aastha.
The Indian Railways rolled out 'Aastha special trains' after the Ram Temple consecration ceremony last month. On Tuesday, Gujarat’s first special Aastha train to Ayodhya was flagged off by the state’s MoS for Forest and Environment Mukesh Patel from Mehsana railway station.