{"id":3091,"date":"2025-07-25T03:34:30","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T03:34:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railtravels.org\/?page_id=3091"},"modified":"2025-07-25T03:34:30","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T03:34:30","slug":"aastha-special-train","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/aastha-special-train\/","title":{"rendered":"Aastha Special Train"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aastha Special Train |\u00a0Aastha Special Tourist Train<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aastha Circuit Special Tourist Train<\/strong><\/p>\n

Government of India<\/strong>
\nMinistry of Railways<\/strong>
\nRailway Board<\/strong><\/p>\n

No. 2025\/Tourism\/450\/1<\/p>\n

New Delhi, dated 20.07.2025<\/p>\n

General Manager(s),
\nAll Indian Railways<\/p>\n

The Chairman and Managing Director,
\nIndian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd,
\nIRCTC Corporate Office, B-148, 11th Floor,
\nStatesman House, Barakhamba Road,
\nNew Delhi \u2013 110001<\/p>\n

(Commercial Circular No. 17 of 2025)
\n(Previously Commercial Circular No.26 of 2025)<\/p>\n

Sub:\u00a0Bharat Darshan Trains \/ Aastha Circuit Trains \u2013 further extension for a period of one year.<\/strong>
\nRef: Letter of even no. dt 22.05.2025 (Commercial Circular No.26 of 2025)<\/p>\n

This is in reference to Commercial Circular No. 26 of 2025 vide which detailed instructions regarding operation of Bharat Darshan Trains\/ Aastha Circuit Trains were issued.<\/p>\n

2. The Competent Authority has now decided to extend the applicability of the said instructions for FY 2025-21 i.e. up to 31.03.2025 and to be reviewed thereafter.<\/p>\n

3. This issues with the concurrence of Finance Directorate of the Ministry, (Railway Board).<\/p>\n

(Philip Varghese)<\/strong>
\nDirector (Tourism and Catering)<\/strong>
\nRailway Board<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source: http:\/\/www.indianrailways.gov.in\/<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an up-to-date overview of the \u201cAastha Special Train\u201d initiative<\/strong> launched by Indian Railways:<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\ude86 What Are Aastha Special Trains?<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Purpose<\/strong>: These special trains were organized to facilitate the journey of pilgrims traveling to Ayodhya<\/strong>, especially after the consecration of the Ram Mandir on 22nd January 2025<\/strong>.\ue202turn0search14\ue202turn0search7\ue201<\/li>\n
  • Launch Details<\/strong>: The first train departed from Secunderabad<\/strong> on 5th February 2025<\/strong>, carrying around 1,346 devotees<\/strong>. Subsequently, similar services began from various states like Tripura, Odisha<\/strong>, and Gujarat<\/strong>.\ue202turn0search13\ue202turn0search14\ue202turn0search8\ue201<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \n

    \ud83d\udccd Operations & Scale<\/h2>\n
      \n
    • Origins<\/strong>: Indian Railways began special services from 66 locations<\/strong> across the country\u2014including major and tier\u20112 cities.\ue202turn0search7\ue202turn0search5\ue201<\/li>\n
    • Fleet Size<\/strong>: Over 200 Aastha Special trains<\/strong> were deployed, each with 22 sleeper coaches<\/strong>, accommodating approximately 1,400 passengers per train<\/strong>.\ue202turn0search8\ue202turn0search14\ue201<\/li>\n
    • Operations Timeline<\/strong>: These trains were initially planned for 100 days<\/strong> post the temple consecration but were extended based on continued demand.\ue202turn0search5\ue202turn0search7\ue201<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n

      \ud83c\udfab Booking & Security Protocols<\/h2>\n
        \n
      • Booking Method<\/strong>: Tickets\u2014mainly round-trip\u2014are booked through IRCTC only<\/strong>; details of the trains are not made available in PRS (Passenger Reservation System) due to security reasons.\ue202turn0search7\ue202turn0search5\ue201<\/li>\n
      • Fixed Composition<\/strong>: Most rakes follow a 22-coach composition<\/strong> with sleeper-class coaches specifically designed for pilgrim traffic.\ue202turn0search14\ue202turn0search13\ue201<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n

        \ud83d\udccb Sample Routes & Start Points<\/h2>\n

        Pilgrims were able to board trains from cities across all regions:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • North<\/strong>: Delhi (Old\/NDLS\/NZM\/Ahmedabad Vihar), Haridwar, Jammu, Katra, Rishikesh<\/li>\n
        • West<\/strong>: Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Ujjain, Ahmedabad, Nashik<\/li>\n
        • South<\/strong>: Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Madurai, Mysore<\/li>\n
        • East & Central<\/strong>: Patna, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Bhopal, Shirdi, Jabalpur<\/li>\n
        • Also flagged off from Agartala, Odisha\u2019s Bhubaneswar<\/strong>, and more.\ue202turn0search14\ue202turn0search5\ue201<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n

          \u2705 Quick Facts Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
          Attribute<\/th>\nDetails<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
          Inauguration Date<\/strong><\/td>\n5\u202fFeb\u202f2025 (Secunderabad \u2192 Ayodhya)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Cities Covered<\/strong><\/td>\n66 origin points nationwide<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Number of Trains<\/strong><\/td>\n200+ Aastha Specials<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Coach Composition<\/strong><\/td>\n22 sleeper coaches per train<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Seating Capacity<\/strong><\/td>\nApprox. 1,400 pilgrims per train<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Booking Platform<\/strong><\/td>\nIRCTC (round-trip only, not PRS-listed)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Operation Duration<\/strong><\/td>\nInitially ~100 days; extended based on demand<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
          \n

          \ud83e\udded Have a Specific Query?<\/h2>\n

          I can assist further with:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • \u2795 A list of specific train numbers or routes<\/strong> if available<\/li>\n
          • \ud83d\uddc2\ufe0f Operational extensions<\/strong> or frequency details<\/li>\n
          • \ud83e\uddfe On-board amenities<\/strong>, refund policies, or coach compositions<\/li>\n
          • \ud83d\udccb IRCTC link references or official circulars (e.g. CC\u201132 \/ Aastha circular)\ue202turn0search9\ue202turn0search6\ue201<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Let me know what details you\u2019d like to explore next!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Aastha Special Train |\u00a0Aastha Special Tourist Train Aastha Circuit Special Tourist Train Government of India Ministry of Railways Railway Board No. 2025\/Tourism\/450\/1 New Delhi, dated 20.07.2025 General Manager(s), All Indian Railways The Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd, IRCTC Corporate Office, B-148, 11th Floor, Statesman House, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3091","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3091"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3091\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}