Luxury train Tejas Express, with ultra-modern amenities, began its maiden journey at 3:25 pm. It started from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and will reach Goa’s Karmali station in nine hours.
It was flagged off by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu through video-conferencing in the presence of Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal, cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar and other dignitaries.
“I would say that travelling by this premium train would provide a better experience than flying in a plane. This train would pass through lush greenery of the Konkan belt, giving a picturesque view of the seashore, mountains and valleys, which will let you enjoy the journey and not just the destination (Goa),” D K Sharma, general manager of the Central Railway, was earlier quoted as saying by PTI.
Here are the key features it offers its travellers:
The coaches will have tea and coffee vending machines, magazines and snacks tables. Tejas Expressis also equipped with close circuit televison cameras for security of passengers.
The coaches are equipped with automatic doors, Wi-Fi and LCD screens whose coaches have been manufactured at the Indian Coach Factory in Chennai. The luxury train will have closed-circuit television (CCTV) and fire and smoke detection facilities.
It also includes other features like touch-less water taps, water level indicators and hand dryers and all coaches fitted with bio-vacuum toilets.
The state-of-the-art train, capable of running at 200 kilometres per hour (km/hr), will currently run at 160 km/hr due to operational constraints.
Once monsoon kicks in, the train will be able to maintain even half the speed it has promised as the tracks are not equipped to handle speed more than 90 kmph.
While it will take about nine hours for one-way journey during rest of the year, during monsoon, the time taken will be 11 hours.
Fares of the premium train would be slightly higher as compared to normal express or mail trains. A one-way trip in the executive class has been fixed at Rs 2,585 without food and Rs 2,740 with food, while the fare for the ordinary chair car has been fixed at Rs 1,310 with food and Rs 1,185 without food.
Unlike the Shatabdi Express and Rajdhani Express, passengers will have the option to avail onboard food or not. The fare of the Jan Shatabdi Express on the same route without food is Rs 940.
It is scheduled to run five days a week between CST Mumbai and Karmali in Goa. The premium train will depart at at 5 am on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May 24 and arrive Karmali at 1.30 pm on the same day.
It will leave Karmali at 2.30 pm on every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May 23 and arrive Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai at 11 pm same day.
However, during the monsoon season, likely from next month, it will run three days a week.
