KOLKATA: You can jump on a local train at Howrah station, alight at Belur to visit Belur Math, return to the station and catch another train to Chandernagore. After a tour of the former French quarters, you may take another train to Bandel for a visit to the famous church there, catch a suburban train to Naihati, where Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s house is located. For all this, the train fare will be Rs 50.

“This scheme was launched on Friday, primarily for the convenience of visitors during the year-end festive season. With a tourist ticket, people can travel from any station on the

suburban to another as many times as they want. Tourist tickets can be booked for a day, three days or five days. These tickets can be booked up to three days in advance (excluding the first day of validity),” said Nikhil Kr Chakraborty, CPRO,

. The scheme has been launched to tackle the rush of festive season travellers on the suburban network. The railway has also realised that many would prefer to travel by train rather than road if the hassle of buying tickets at every stop was done away with.

“Take Dakshineswar for instance. Given the row over Tallah Bridge, people in central Kolkata would find it more convenient to take a train from Sealdah or Bidhannangar rather than spend over an hour on B T Road. From Dakshineswar, people can take a train to Bally and access the Howrah-Bandel section, without having to buy tickets again,” an official said.