PM Modi flags off third IRCTC train 'Kashi Mahakal Express' from Varanasi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off Kashi Mahakal Express through video conferencing from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. This is the third train operated by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) that will run between PM Modi's parliamentary constituency Varanasi and Indore. Earlier the IRCTC has successfully launched two Tejas Express trains on New Delhi-Lucknow and Mumbai-Ahmedabad routes. 

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 new Express' commercial run will begin on March 20, 2020. 

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About Kashi Mahakal Express

It is a superfast air-conditioned train that will connect three Jyotirlinga - Omkareshwar (near Indore in Madhya Pradesh), Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh) and Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh) besides also connecting the industrial and educational hub of Indore and Bhopal. The train will operate thrice a week between Varanasi and Indore via Ujjain, Sant Hiradnagar, Bina, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow/Prayagraj and Sultanpur.

Being the first long-distance overnight journey train, IRCTC has geared up to provide a host of facilities and services to the passengers on-board including high-quality vegetarian food, on-board bedrolls, and housekeeping services and on-board security services. The one-way journey from Varanasi to Indore in Kashi Mahakal Express will cost Rs 1,951 inclusive of four meals. 

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Travel details

Besides, every passenger travelling on the train will be covered with complimentary travel insurance of Rs 10 lakh during the journey. The train will have an advance reservation period of 120 days and will only have the general and foreign tourist quotas. The current booking will be available to the passengers on the platform itself after preparation of the first chart, four hours to five minutes before the scheduled departure of the train. 

Kashi Mahakal Express will be the first passenger train of its own kind, which promises to be a full-service overnight journey train with high levels of onboard services complemented with exclusive optional tour packages for the passengers covering the religious, business as well as tourism sites of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. 

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