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Delhi to Mumbai Rajdhani Superfast Special Train to operate daily from Jan 19

Starting from January 19, Delhi-Mumbai rail connectivity will be all the more frequent and better as the Rajdhani Superfast special train will start running all seven days of the week. For now, the train runs on four days a week. As tweeted by the Union Minister Piyush Goyal, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) Mumbai to Hazrat Nizamuddin Rajdhani Superfast special train will operate daily starting from January 19 but with all the safety rules in place to provide maximum comfort to people during travel. On the other hand, Train No 01222 Rajdhani superfast special train, starting from January20, will depart from Hazrat Nizamuddin at 4:55 PM daily and arrive at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) at 11:15 AM the following day. The stops and coach composition for the train would remain the same. Passengers can start booking for Train No. 01221 Rajdhani superfast special train will begin from Makar Sankranti on January 14. However, only passengers travelling with confirmed berths will be allowed to board the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani.

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Haryana CM inaugurates country's first air taxi service from Chandigarh to Hisar

Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday inaugurated air taxi services from Chandigarh to Hisar from Chandigarh Airport under Centre's UDAN scheme "For the first time in the country, a small aircraft in the form of air taxi is being used for services," he said. "In 2nd phase, services for Hisar to Dehradun will be started on 18 January. In the 3rd phase, two more routes from Chandigarh to Dehradun and Hisar to Dharamshala will be added on 23 January. The company also plans to include Shimla, Kullu and more Haryana routes," said Khattar. "First flight to the newly constructed Hisar airport in Haryana from Chandigarh was flagged off today under the Regional Connectivity Scheme – Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN) of the Government of India. The flagging off marks the operationalization of 54th airport under the UDAN scheme. To date, 307 routes and 54 airports including 5 heliports and 2 Water Aerodromes have been operationalized under the UDAN scheme," said Ministry of Civil Aviation in an official release. "Hisar airport is a public licensed airport that is suitable for 18 seat type aircraft. The development of the Hisar airport was undertaken by the MoCA as it aligns with the dual objectives of the UDAN scheme; "letting the common citizen of the country fly" & make air travel affordable and widespread in the country." Subsequently, the Government of India had sanctioned ₹28.60 crore for the development of the interim civil aviation operations. The land was handed over to the AAI for the up-gradation and development of the Hisar airport. The upgrade included the construction of the new terminal building, hangars, strengthening of the runway, installation of night-flying equipment, ATC, security equipment, etc at the Hisar airport," the ministry further said. The airline Aviation Connectivity & Infrastructure Developers Pvt. Ltd (Air Taxi) was awarded the Hisar – Chandigarh – Hisar route under the UDAN 4 bidding process. The airline has become the first startup airline of the country to assist the nation with Air Taxi services. These UDAN flights will reduce the journey time between Hisar to Chandigarh from 4.5 hours to a comfortable 45 minutes journey that too at an affordable fare since financial incentives in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) is being provided from the Centre, State governments and airport operators to selected airlines to encourage operations from unserved and underserved airports under the scheme. "This air connectivity will fulfill the aspirations of the people of Haryana and Chandigarh. Many people travel frequently between these two cities for personal as well as professional purposes. Hisar is the administrative headquarters of the Hisar district of Hisar division in the state of Haryana. The place is India's largest galvanized iron manufacturing city. The commencement of the flight operations on the route will provide impetus to the local economy and enhance the aerial connectivity of the region," said the ministry.

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Odisha to develop Chandrabhaga & Talsari beach

The Puri beach in the state has recently got the 'Blue Flag'certification. The tag is given to environment-friendly and clean beaches, equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists Patnaik issued the directions to develop the two beaches while chairing a high-level meeting here on the implementation of two ambitious plan. He said that state government has given priority to tourism development in order to attract more domestic and foreign tourists. The chief minister told the officials to develop one kilometre area at Chandrabhaga in Puri-Konark beach. This beach should include facilities like water-sports, recreation, cycle track, pavement, wooden track by the beach, space for children's activity centre, podium to enjoy sunrise and adventure sports and other facilities in the master plan to be prepared for the purpose. Patnaik also directed the officials to prepare a waste management system, landscaping and solar lighting along with ensuring participation of local people of Chandrabhaga. The chief minister further directed them to develop an area of 2.4 kilometre at Talsari beach in Balasore district and to encourage construction of standard and budget hotels there. Besides, there shall be a pavilion, kiosk, amphitheatres, restaurants and art and craft plaza to attract tourists, he added. Official sources said that the state government has set a target to complete the projects by October 2021. This apart, Patnaik has also directed officials to look into the prospects to develop other beaches in Puri and Ganjam districts. The chief minister thanked the Puri district administration and the tourism department for their efforts which helped the Puri beach get the Blue Flag certification.

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South Central Railway, IRCTC and airlines launch combo packs to boost domestic tourism

IRCTC and South Central Railway (SCR) have teamed up with various low cost private airlines such as Indigo, TruJet, and SpiceJet, to give a boost to domestic tourism in a post COVID-19 era. In addition to this, SCR and IRCTC, have also developed economic packages for all the five South Indian States and major pilgrimage locations, ranging anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 8000. The package will include stay, food, and visit to tourist locations with a guide. Keeping COVID-19 situation in mind, SCR has allocated isolation bogeys in each train in case any member of the group becomes symptomatic, and sanitisation kits will be given out to all members at every stop. Speaking at the press conference, officials from IRCTC said, "We have arranged full trains for famous pilgrimage centres including Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Bhubaneshwar, Srisailam, Kanyakumari, Madurai, and Tiruchirapalli." The economic packages include stay in dormitories, while the domestic air packages that are more expensive include stay in three star hotels. Special pilgrimage packages to boost footfall The trains to pilgrimage centres will have 18 coaches, of which 14 are sleeper coaches, under the economy category, and one three tier AC coach under comfort category. People can book tickets online. There is also an LTC discount for Central government employees. Every passenger will be provided with a sanitisation kit which will include gloves, sanitisers and other essentials items, said the IRCTC officials at a press conference

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Vistara to fly to Sharjah from Jan 20

Vistara has now announced daily, non-stop flights to Sharjah (UAE) from Delhi and Mumbai from January 20, 2021 onwards. The airline will operate its Airbus A320neo aircraft on this route as part of the ‘air bubble agreement’ between India and the UAE, complementing its services to/from Dubai. For Delhi, the round-trip all-inclusive fares for Delhi-Sharjah-Delhi start at INR 15,999 and round-trip all-inclusive fares for Sharjah-Delhi-Sharjah start at AED 799. For Mumbai, the round-trip all-inclusive fares for Mumbai-Sharjah-Mumbai start at INR 14,999 and round-trip all-inclusive fares for Sharjah-Mumbai-Sharjah start at AED 749. Bookings for flights to and from Sharjah are being progressively opened on all channels, including the airline’s website, mobile app, and through travel agents. Commenting on the importance of this new route in their network strategy, Leslie Thng, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “We continue to witness significant demand for travel between India and the UAE, and are delighted to add our second destination, after Dubai, in the country to our route map. We are determined to provide the finest flying experience and enhanced convenience to travellers to and from Sharjah and remain committed to strengthening our global presence.”

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Domestic Flights: IndiGo Announces Flight Services to 7 More Cities From February

In an effort to bring more cities under its ambit, IndiGo on Tuesday said it is planning to start new flights connecting Leh, Darbhanga, Agra, Kurnool, Bareilly, Durgapur and Rajkot from February onwards. Also Read - IndiGo's Patna Airport Manager Shot Dead, Police Find Clue; Investigation on “The airline plans to start flights connecting Leh and Darbhanga in February, followed by Kurnool and Agra in March, Bareilly and Durgapur in April and Rajkot in May 2021,” IndiGo said in a statement. Also Read - Check Top 5 Headlines of The Day: Supreme Court on Farm Laws, Tesla's Entry to India, Bird Flu & More Notably, the low-cost carrier at present has connected 61 domestic cities and addition of these new stations will take the number to 68. Also Read - IndiGo Airline Executive Shot Dead By Unidentified Gunmen Outside His House in Patna “IndiGo will secure all regulatory approvals and specific flight schedules will be announced as these approvals are received,” it said. Earlier, IndiGo had announced flight services between Kolkata and Shillong from February 1 with the Meghalaya government reopening the state for tourists after remaining locked for almost 10 months due to Coronavirus. After the long suspension of their flight due to COVID19 lockdown, IndiGo is all set to resume its Kolkata flight from 1st February. Booking is already started.

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