The inaugural journey of the Aastha Special Train, carrying 1400 devotees, marked a significant event as it departed from Bhubaneswar to Ayodhya on Tuesday morning. Flagged off around 6.15 am from the Bhubaneswar railway station, the train, designated as Bhubaneswar-Darshan Nagar (Ayodhya) Aastha Special Train (No-08498), signifies the culmination of a 500-year wait with the construction of the Ram Mandir. This inaugural journey witnessed groups of Ram devotees from Puri and Jagatsinghpur Parliamentary constituencies embarking on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya. The Aastha train service aims to provide devotees with an opportunity to have darshan of Ram Lalla in the newly-built Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The service is scheduled to commence from Puri, Cuttack, and Bhadrak shortly, with the train from Cuttack set to depart for Ayodhya on February 9, according to sources.

Each Aastha train comprises 20 sleeper coaches, accommodating 72 seats each. The service is scheduled for multiple dates, including February 9, 14, 19, 24, and 29, with return journeys planned for February 8, 13, 18, 23, and 28. With the capacity to accommodate around 1,400 people per train, this initiative aims to facilitate the pilgrimage to Ayodhya for devotees from various regions. It is noteworthy that the Indian Railways has initiated more than 200 Aastha special trains from various cities and tier 1 and tier 2 towns across India to Ayodhya following the Ram Temple consecration ceremony on January 22. However, it’s essential to mention that tickets for this train cannot be booked at railway station counters currently. Only groups of travelers are permitted to make bookings through the IRCTC Tourism website, with the IRCTC app not applicable for this purpose at the moment.