Mahakal Express: 1st time ever! Seat reserved for Lord Shiva - PIC darshan here

Ever heard of a train on which a seat was reserved for a deity? Feels like a dream? This happened for the 1st time in the history of Indian Railways! In a first, the Indian Railways reserved a seat for a deity on a train, as per a report in IANS. The national transporter, which launched its third IRCTC operated train named Kashi Mahakal Express from Varanasi to Indore, had reserved a seat for Lord Mahakal (Lord Shiva) on board.

One seat in Kashi Mahakal Express (seat number 64 in B5 coach) has been left reserved for Lord Shiva.

Even a temple has been drawn on the seat to make people aware that the seat is reserved for Lord Mahakal.

IRCTC's Director, Tourism, Rajni Hasija said that the practice would continue beyond the inaugural run, as per the IANS report.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday flagged off the third train operated by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) between his parliamentary constituency Varanasi and Madhya Pradesh`s Indore.

Modi flagged off the third IRCTC operated train Kashi Mahakal Express via video conferencing from Varanasi.

The new Kashi Mahakal Express will connect three places -- Jyotirlinga-Omkareshwar (near Indore in Madhya Pradesh), Mahakaleshwar (Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh) and Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh).

According to IRCTC officials, Indore-Varanasi Kashi Mahakal Express will be the first private train that will run overnight and for a comfortable long-distance journey, the train will feature a host of facilities. IRCTC will serve vegetarian food, housekeeping services, on-board security services and bedrolls.

The IRCTC officials said that passengers will also get complimentary insurance of Rs 10 lakh.