"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
7 Oct 2019
India’s first ‘private’ train run by IRCTC has started it’s commercial operations when it was flagged off from Lucknow by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the first week of October. The Lucknow – Delhi train will be the fastest on this route as it will reach Delhi 25 minutes earlier than Shatabdi which was until now the fastest train on this route.
New Features
The new IRCTC Tejas has a plane like feel with hospitable crew members, food, push-button feature in seats and infotainment service. The train has tea and coffee vending machines. One novel feature is the introduction of ramps so as to bridge the gap between the train and the platform facilitating passengers to alight easily. It is the first train to pay for any delay on an hourly basis. Passengers will also be provided with free insurance of Rs 25 lakhs.
Number of Stops and Frequency
The Tejas Express will have only two halts- Kanpur and Ghaziabad. The timings are so convenient that one can reach Delhi in the afternoon and return to Lucknow on the same day. It will run on all days of the week except Tuesday.
With the success of this train, the Railways intend to hand over more of its operations to IRCTC and make way for private operators to run trains in India.