The ‘Bharat Gaurav’ train service from Coimbatore to Shirdi, a first of its kind in the country, was inaugurated at the Coimbatore North Railway Station.

What are Bharat Gaurav trains?

• Bharat Gaurav express trains are operated by private players, who have the right to use the rail infrastructure provided by the Indian Railways.

About Bharat Gaurav Scheme

• Under this Scheme, theme-based tourist circuit trains, on the lines of the Ramayana Express, can be run either by private or State-owned operators.
• Till now, the Railways had passenger segments and goods segments.
• Now, it will have a third segment for tourism under the Bharat Gaurav.
• The scheme has been developed after extensive stakeholder discussions and a lot of State Governments, including Odisha, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, have shown interest.

Key features

• Service providers, who can be an individual, company, society, trust, joint venture or consortium will be free to decide themes/circuits.
• They will offer an all-inclusive package to tourists including rail travel, hotel accommodation and sightseeing arrangement, visit to historical/heritage sites, tour guides etc.
• They have full flexibility to decide the package cost.
• The service providers will also be able to design/furnish the interior of the coaches based on the theme and put branding or advertising inside and outside of the train.

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