The Railway Budget for FY 2012-13 could prove to be a boost for Pilgrimage Tourism in India. A close look at the Budget, which was announced by Dinesh Trivedi, Union Minister for Railways, Government of India yesterday, reveals that of the 75 new express trains to be launched this year, 11 will be connecting major pilgrimage destinations in India.
Popular pilgrimage destinations like Somnath, Dwarka, Ajmer, Haridwar, Tirupati and Shirdi will see new express trains scheduled on daily, weekly and tri-weekly frequencies. Furthermore, a special train specially targeting Sikh pilgrims, ‘Guru Parikrama' has been announced. The train would run between Amritsar-Patna-Nanded routes which attracts a large number of Sikh pilgrims. Besides this, the ministry has also proposed a ‘Green Train', which will run through the forests of North Bengal. Trivedi said, “200 remote railway stations will be set up as ‘green energy stations’ powered entirely by solar energy; solar lighting system will be provided at 1,000 manned level crossing gates and 2,500 coaches will be equipped with bio toilets.” For the year 2012-13, the ministry has announced an annual plan outlay of Rs 60,100 crore, which stands as highest ever planned investment so far.
Click here to see the original article>Popular pilgrimage destinations like Somnath, Dwarka, Ajmer, Haridwar, Tirupati and Shirdi will see new express trains scheduled on daily, weekly and tri-weekly frequencies. Furthermore, a special train specially targeting Sikh pilgrims, ‘Guru Parikrama' has been announced. The train would run between Amritsar-Patna-Nanded routes which attracts a large number of Sikh pilgrims. Besides this, the ministry has also proposed a ‘Green Train', which will run through the forests of North Bengal. Trivedi said, “200 remote railway stations will be set up as ‘green energy stations’ powered entirely by solar energy; solar lighting system will be provided at 1,000 manned level crossing gates and 2,500 coaches will be equipped with bio toilets.” For the year 2012-13, the ministry has announced an annual plan outlay of Rs 60,100 crore, which stands as highest ever planned investment so far.