The “ultra-luxurious” Tejas Express – India’s first semi-high speed full AC train – is all set to begin its maiden journey today.
Railways minister Suresh Prabhu will flag off the first Tejas Express train from Mumbai to Karmali, Goa, on May 22, the Central Railways said on microblogging site Twitter.
The train is going to cover a distance of 579 km in 8.5 hours with halts at Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Ratnagiri and Kudal.
Here is all that the state-of-the-art Tejas Express has to offer:
1. The high-speed rake is capable of running at the speed of 200 kmph but due to track constraints will run at 160 kmph.
2. It includes modern amenities like onboard infotainment, Wi-Fi, CCTV, fire and smoke detection facilities, tea and coffee vending machines, etc.
3. There will be comfortable seating arrangements and each seat will have an LED TV with touch control system and head phone socket, and call bell facilities.
4. Manufactured at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, the train will have automatic entrance door. It also has a dust-proof/sealed inter car gangway.
5. Tejas Express's executive class fare is Rs 2,680 (with food) and Rs 2,525 (without food). The fare for AC chair car has been fixed at Rs 1,280 (with food) and Rs 1,155 (without food). Besides, the railways has also planned optional on-board catering services (it won’t be compulsory like in Shatabdi).
6. The catering menu includes a wide variety of choices like croissant, French fries and South Indian dishes for breakfast and lachcha paratha and chicken kolhapuri for the main course.
7. The high-speed train boasts all safety measures like fire suppression system, smoke detection and fire detection. A GPS-based passenger information display system and a digital destination board has also been installed for the convenience of the passengers.
8. The train has bio-vacuum toilets in all the coaches. It will also have other features like hand dryers, water level indicators and touch-less water taps.
10. The train will run on the Mumbai-Goa route five days of the week— Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday— during the non-monsoon period. During monsoon — between June 10 and October 31 — it will operate thrice a week— on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
