Railway Budget 2010:Bharat Tirth tourist train & Railway to lead partner for Commonwealth Games

Railways to start special 'Bharat Tirth' tourist trains

New Delhi: In a bid to promote tourism, Railways will be launching 16 special 'Bharat Tirth' trains connecting popular tourist sites as also pilgrimage centres in different parts of the country.

"The running of Bharat Tirth is to emphasise our unity in diversity and bring to reality Kabiguru's (Rabindranath Tagore) words in our national anthem Punjab Sindhu Gujarat Maratha, Dravida Utkala Banga, Vindhya Himachal Yamuna Ganga," Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said.

Presenting the 2010-11 budget in Lok Sabha, she said the trains are proposed to run on the following routes:

1. Howrah-Gaya-Agra-Mathura-Vrindavan-New Delhi-Haridwar-Varanasi-Howrah;

2. Howrah-Chennai-Puducherry-Madurai-Rameswaram- Kanyakumari-Bangalore-Mysore-Chennai-Howrah;

3. Howrah-Vizag-Hyderabad-Araku-Howrah;

4. Howrah-Varanasi-Jammu Tawi-Amritsar-Haridwar- Mathura-Vrindavan-Allahabad-Howrah;

5. Howrah-Ajmer-Udaipur-Jodhpur-Bikaner-Jaipur-Howrah;

6. Mumbai-Pune-Tirupati-Kancheepuram-Rameswaram- Madurai-Kanyakumari-Pune-Mumbai;

7. Pune-Jaipur-Nathdwara-Ranakpur-Jaipur-Mathura- Agra-Haridwar-Amritsar-Jammu Tawi-Pune

8. Pune-Ratnagiri-Goa-Bangalore-Mysore-Tirupati-Pune;

9. Ahmedabad-Puri-Kolkata-Gangasagar-Varanasi- Allahabad-Indore-Omkareshwar-Ujjain-Ahmedabad;

10. Bhopal-Dwaraka-Somnath-Udaipur-Ajmer-Jodhpur- Jaipur-Mathura-Vrindavan-Amritsar-Jammu Tawi-Bhopal.

Railways to be lead partner for Commonwealth Games

New Delhi: Railways will run a special exhibition train across the country to mark the Commonwealth Games to be held here apart from being the lead partner of the mega sporting event.

"Indian Railways will be the lead partner of the Commonwealth Games being hosted by India this year. To mark this event and also to spread the message, Railways proposes to start a Commonwealth Exhibition train," Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said presenting the Rail Budget.

The Commonwealth Games will be held in the capital from October 3 to 14.

She also said five sports academies would be set up across the country to strengthen the infrastructure. The proposed locations are Delhi, Secunderabad, Chennai and Mumbai.

To promote hockey, Bannerjee said it is also proposed to provide astro-turfs.

The Railways will also provide increased employment opportunities for sports persons.

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