Railways to run 4 special 'Pravasi Bharti' trains to Kumbh Mela in January

The railways will run four special trains between Allahabad and Delhi to ferry delegates of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas from the Kumbh Mela to the national capital for them to be a part of the Republic Day event.

In a meeting, officials from the External Affairs and the Railway Ministry decided that 'Pravasi Bharti' trains will run on January 24 at between 7 pm to 12.50 am, sources said.

The four trains will begin their journeys from Allahabad -- the first one at 19:00 hours, the next at 20:15 hours, then at 22:00 hours and the last one at 00:50 hours. The last train will reach Delhi by 13:30 pm on January 25, the source said.

The railways will convert all third AC coaches of the special trains to second AC for providing more comfort to delegates, the sources said.

The 15th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas will be held in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi from January 21 to 23.

The Indian diaspora attending the event will get an opportunity to participate in the 'Kumbh Snan', arrangements for which have been made at the sangam. Those interested in participating in the holy bath have to register on the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas website.

The government had earlier instructed the railways to activate its vast resources and scale up deployment of such trains to carry up to 5,000 delegates who will be at Prayagraj in Allahabad.