After the inauguration of Ram Temple on January 22, the Indian Railways will launch Aastha special trains. These trains will connect 66 different places from across the nation to Ayodhya, according to reports.
Each train will have 22 coaches to accommodate devotees who want to visit the Ram Temple. Meanwhile, the rituals in the lead-up to the consecration ceremony of the Ram Lalla idol on the big day are already underway.
Depending on the demands of the devotees, later the number of trains will be increased. Special Aastha Trains will be launched from New Delhi, Old Delhi, Nizamuddin and Anand Vihar. Apart from the national capital, the trains will also run from Agartala, Tinsukia, Barmer, Katra, Jammu, Nashik, Dehradun, Bhadrak, Khurda Road, Kottayam, Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Kazipet.
Due to security reasons, the railways have decided not to mention the train details in its Passenger Reservation System (PRS) but the round-trip tickets for special Aastha trains can be booked on the IRCTC website and app.
In Tamil Nadu, the Aastha Special train will be launched from nine stations, including Chennai, Salem and Madurai.
A total of seven stations in Maharashtra - Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai, Wardha, Jalna and Nashik - will see the Aastha special trains connecting the state to the holy city in UP.
The Indian Railways has nearly 200 special train services in the pipeline. These trains will only have operational stoppages. In addition, these trains will run from various cities for 100 days after the Ram Mandir opening ceremony.
Here are the routes of the Aastha special trains:
Delhi
New Delhi station - Ayodhya - New Delhi Station
Anand Vihar - Ayodhya - Anand Vihar
Nizamuddin - Ayodhya - Nizamuddin
Old Delhi Railway station - Ayodhya Dham - Old Delhi Railway station
Maharashtra
Mumbai - Ayodhya - Mumbai
Nagpur - Ayodhya - Nagpur
Pune - Ayodhya - Pune
Wardha - Ayodhya - Wardha
Jalna - Ayodhya - Jalna
Goa - 1 Aastha Special
Telangana
Secunderabad - Ayodhya - Secunderabad
Kazipet Jn - Ayodhya - Kazipet Jn
Tamil Nadu
Chennai - Ayodhya - Chennai
Coimbatore - Ayodhya - Coimbatore
Madurai - Ayodhya - Madurai
Salem - Ayodhya - Salem
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu- Ayodhya-Jammu
Katra - Ayodhya - Katra
Gujarat
Udhna - Ayodhya - Udhna
Vapi - Ayodhya - Vapi
Vadodara - Ayodhya - Vadodara
Valsad - Ayodhya - Valsad
Madhya Pradesh
Indore - Ayodhya - Indore
Bina - Ayodhya - Bina
Bhopal - Ayodhya - Bhopal
Jabalpur - Ayodhya - Jabalpur