‘One seat in Kashi Mahakal Express — seat number 64 in B5 coach — has been left reserved for Lord Shiva,’ Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar told IANS.
One seat in Kashi Mahakal Express -- seat number 64 in B5 coach -- has been left reserved for Lord Shiva. (Photo: Twitter/@AbhyankarPiyush)
In the third IRCTC run train named Kashi Mahakal Express from Varanasi to Indore, a seat has been reserved for Lord Mahakal (Lord Shiva) on board. It is for the first time that a seat has been left reserved for a deity.
The train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday in Varanasi via video conferencing.
“One seat in Kashi Mahakal Express — seat number 64 in B5 coach — has been left reserved for Lord Shiva,” Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar told IANS.
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“Even a temple has been drawn on the seat to make people aware that the seat is reserved for Lord Mahakal,” he added.
IRCTC Director, Tourism, Rajni Hasija said that the practice would continue beyond the inaugural run.
Kashi Mahaka Express was the third train operated by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which will run between Varanasi and Madhya Pradesh’s Indore.
The commercial run of the train will begin its run from February 20.
“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,” Kumar said.
The other two trains run by IRCTC is Tejas Express on New Delhi to Lucknow and Mumbai to Ahmedabad routes.
As per the reports, on every Tuesday and Thursday, the train will leave from Varanasi at 2:45 pm and reach Indore at 9:40 am on Wednesday and Friday.
On its returning journey, it will leave from Indore at 10:55 am and reach Varanasi at 6 am the next day. It will take stoppages at Ujjain, Sant Hirdaram Nagar, Bina, Jhansi, Kanpur and Sultanpur stations in both directions.
However, in the weekly service via Pragyaraj route, the train will depart from Varanasi at 3:15 pm every Sunday and reach Indore at 9:40 am the next day. From Indore, it will depart Indore at 10:55 am every Monday and reach Varanasi at 5 am the next day.
The one-way journey from Varanasi to Indore will cost Rs 1,951, inclusive of four meals.
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