A senior Railway Ministry official said ever since the launch of Mahaparinirvan Express, both domestic and foreign tourists from Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Japan, USA, Canada, Germany and Netherlands have admired the hospitality and seamless services rendered by the staff of the train.

The award was conferred under the' Most Innovative Tourism Product&aposcategory for the year 2007-08 and was received by managing director of IRCTC Rakesh Tandon from Home Minister P Chidambaram last month.

The train starts from Delhi and covers Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Varanasi, Sarnath, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Lumbini-Sravasti and Agra during its eight-day journey.