New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) The much-anticipated tourist train service to Janakpur in Nepal, believed by the devout to be the maternal home of goddess Sita, is likely to begin later this month, sources said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the first broad-gauge passenger railway service connecting Bihar's Jayanagar with Nepal's Kurtha region, which is less than 10 km from Janakpur.

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In October last year, the Indian government handed over the cross-border rail link to Nepal, which was constructed with a grant assistance of Rs 548 crore from India.

The sources said the Shri Ramayana Express Yatra train will take 20 days to cover Ayodhya, Sitamarhi, Janakpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Chitrakoot, Nasik, Hampi, Rameshwaram, Kanchipuram and Bhadrachalam.

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The train will carry around 160 passengers and offer first and second-class air-conditioned coaches.

Tentatively, the tour package will include a one-night stay in Janakpur, where the tourists will be able to see the Ram-Janaki mandir. It is believed that Sita was born here and Lord Ram married her at this place.

Janakpur was part of the Ramayana Circuit trains, but the package included a bus ride to Nepal from Sitamarhi in Bihar, which is 35 kilometres away.

The sources said the Ramayana Express train will be run under the Bharat Gaurav train scheme and the fares are likely to be two times higher than that of the existing trains.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)