On Sunday, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a religious train Kashi-Mahakal Express. This train will connect three Jyotirlinga – Omkareshwar (near Indore, MP), Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain, MP) and Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh). The commercial services of the train for passengers will start from February 20.
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This is a superfast fully air-conditioned passenger train and will operate thrice a week. Once the train will take a route via Prayagraj and twice via Lucknow. It will cover a total distance of 1131 KM via Lucknow and 1102 km via Varanasi. The journey time will be around 19 hours.
Have a look at the days and timing chart of Kashi-Mahakal Express
A few reports claimed that the Seat number 64 of coach B5 has been reserved for Lord Shiva and cannot be booked by anyone. But that was temperorary and only for inaugural run.
Kashi Mahakal Express facilities
This is a religious train, so the railway has taken care of religious sentiments of passengers. Passengers will get high-quality vegetarian food, on-board bedrolls, housekeeping services, and security services. On-board infotainment services will also be available.
IRCTC is also making tour packages of religious cities covered by the train. These cities include Kashi, Omkareshwar, Mahakaleshwar, Bhopal, Sanchi, Ujjain, Bhimbetka, Ayodhya and Prayag.
How to book Kashi Mahakal Express Tickets
Tickets of Kashi Mahakal Express train can only be booked online through the IRCTC website www.irctc.co.in and its mobile app “IRCTC Rail Connect”. You cannot get a reservation at railway reservation counters. Tickers can be booked in 120 days advance.
It is important to note that Train fare is dynamic in nature, So, there will be different series of fares for lean, busy and festive seasons. To get a cheaper ticket, you need to book tickets as early as possible. There is also no concession on tickets.
Current bookings will also be available after the first chart preparation. That means one could get tickets normally between 4 hours to 5 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.
All passengers will also get a complimentary Rail Travel Insurance of up to Rs. 10 Lakhs.
Kashi Mahakal Express ticket fares
The minimum fare is Rs 1,629. As I already mentioned, the train will follow a dynamic fare structure. When 70 percent seats are booked, the fare per seat will increase by 10 percent. After 90 seats have been taken, the fare will increase by 20 percent.
For more details, read the official information guide
This is the third corporate train after two Tejas Express trains. There will be another Lord Shiva-themed train followed by a Ramayan-themed train in the coming months. IRCTC is launching these dedicated trains for pushing religious tourism.
