Indian Railways’ special ‘Aastha’ train carrying 2,000 pilgrims flagged off from Goa to Ayodhya

financialexpress.com:

A special “Aastha” train, carrying approximately 2,000 pilgrims bound for Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, was inaugurated from Goa. The flagging off ceremony, held on Monday evening at Thivim railway station in North Goa district, saw the presence of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, state BJP president Sadanand Shet Tanavade, and other MLAs. Chief Minister Sawant expressed his excitement about the journey, stating that the entire Goa Cabinet will visit the Ram Mandir on February 15.

He emphasised the significance of the event for the people of Goa, highlighting the opportunity for the entire community to visit Ram Lalla together for the first time. Expressing gratitude, Sawant thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for realising this long-awaited journey for the people of Goa.

Earlier, on Sunday, Union Minister of State for Railways Darshana Jardosh flagged off the Surat to Ayodhya Dham Special Tourist Aastha train from Surat Central Railway Station.

Similarly, Lord Ram devotees from Jalandhar boarded an Aastha Special Train on Friday.

While another Aastha special train commenced its journey from the Kochuveli railway station in Thiruvananthapuram.

The Indian Railways is operating over 200 Aastha special trains from various cities and towns across India to facilitate darshan of Ram Lalla at the newly-built Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Each Aastha train consists of 20 sleeper coaches, accommodating approximately 1,400 passengers per train.

Following the consecration ceremony at the Ram temple on January 22, devotees have been flocking to Ayodhya in large numbers. The Indian Railways initiated “Aastha Special” trains to facilitate devotees’ travel to Ayodhya from various parts of the country.

Tanavade highlighted the diverse backgrounds of