Travelling for seven nights and eight days through major tourist destinations of Gujarat in the Indian Railways’ latest Bharat Gaurav deluxe AC train has been a mini maharaja experience.
News18 will share the experience with you of the IRCTC-operated ‘Garvi Gujarat’ train, which was flagged off from the Safdarjung Railway Station in New Delhi by railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at 6.30 pm on Tuesday, an hour’s delay from the scheduled time.
A few basics
The first-class coupe of the train is quite similar to what you will find in any other train by the Indian Railways. You get separate mini rooms, called coupe, on a sharing basis for two or four people.
We found our coupe equipped with clean beddings for two in a bunk bed setting with water bottles for each passenger. The coupe also has a separate locker facility for each passenger.
Even though the coupe gives a sense of privacy with a sliding door and opaque curtains, the walls or partition between two adjacent coupes cannot be considered top notch as noise from the adjoining compartment as well as from outside could be heard clearly.
On the brighter side, IRCTC has paid special attention to cleaning, as a cleaning staff mopped the floor twice in the first evening. The other assisting staff also asked if he could help us in any way a number of times, apart from explaining the basic details about the train and system.
Every passenger coach has two assistants: one for general help and another for cleaning.
Service of a Luxury Train
Soon after the train was flagged off, we went to the ‘AC Restaurant Car’. You don’t find this system in usual trains. Not even in Rajdhani or other premium trains. These are exclusive to the special Indian luxury trains.
While we found the coaches and living experience to be at par with other premium trains, the restaurant and its service is that of a luxury train. For ‘high tea’, we were served tea and snacks. The restaurant car has sufficient space to accommodate all the passengers.
What came as a pleasant surprise is that one can avail the catering services throughout the day. The restaurant is closed from 10 pm to 7 am. Even during these hours, you can get the service at your seat.
The dinner started around 8 pm with a predefined menu, there is no à la carte menu at this point. The refills were unlimited and not just for food. A passenger can demand unlimited tea or coffee as well.
We were told that the morning tea will be served at our seat and the breakfast will start at 7 am.
This tourist train consists of four first AC coaches, two second AC coaches, one well equipped pantry car and two rail restaurants.
State of Art Facilities
This deluxe AC tourist train has a host of astounding features including shower cubicles in each coach, sensor based washroom functions, and foot massager. The fully air-conditioned train provides two types of accommodation – 1st AC and 2nd AC.
The train has enhanced security features of CCTV cameras and security guards for each coach and is also equipped with an infotainment system in the entire train — you can hear bhajans during evening and morning.
Low footfall
This train can accommodate 156 tourists. However, there were just 71 passengers and around 25 journalists, including bloggers for the debut journey. This is the 17th train under the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ series.
Next stop at Vadodara
On Wednesday, the train will stop at Vadodara. We will be taken to Champaner archaeological park during the day. The stoppage will be overnight in a hotel.
During the trip, the train also has stops at Somnath, Dwarka, Ahmedabad, Modhera and Patan. There will be two nights’ stay in the hotels, one each at Kevadiya (Vadodara) and Ahmedabad.
The visit to Somnath and Dwarka will be covered in the day halt at the destination.
The Statue of Unity, Champaner archaeological park, which is a UNESCO world heritage site, Adhlej Step Well, Akshardham Temple in Ahmedabad, Sabarmati Ashram, Modhera Sun Temple and the Rani ki Vao, another UNESCO site at Patan, are some of the major tourist destinations to covered in the trip.
Besides, Somnath Jyotirlinga, Nageshwar Jyotirlinga, Dwarkadheesh Temple and Beyt Dwarka religious sites are also part of the eight-day itinerary.
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