India’s first corporate, privately owned trains, Tejas Express got back on track on Sunday, after an 11-month long hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Owned by the IRCTC subsidiary of the Indian Railways, Tejas Express has two operations- from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and Lucknow to New Delhi. Earlier, the trains services were suspended due to the outbreak of coronavirus and the consequent low passenger load. However, the private fleet will now run, to meet the growing passenger demands.
Train timings & schedules stand revised
As per the statement released by the IRCTC, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas Express will run four times a week- Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with effect from February 14, 2021. The rails will map a route via Borivali, Vapi, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara and Nadiad stations, during the journey and return, read reports. These AC-Chair cars and executive AC-Chair coaches will bring luxurious comfort to people, wrapped by the efficiency of professionalism.
Train No. 82901/82902 Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Tejas Express will depart from Mumbai Central Station at 15:50 hours (3:50 PM), reaching Ahmedabad at 22:05 hours (10:05 PM), the same day. The return journey from Ahmedabad will begin at 06:40 hours (6:40 AM), arriving at Mumbai Central on the same day, at 13:05 hours (1:05 PM). As per reports, Tejas Express will also halt at Andheri Station, on a temporary basis, till March 29, 2021. The train timings and schedules have been revised to accommodate the same.
Bookings open for Lucknow-New Delhi Tejas Express
Lucknow-New Delhi Tejas Express will run as train number 82501/82502, from Sunday. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation has stated that the bookings for all the seats shall be opened for four days in a week- Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, while a 30-day advance reservation period (ARP) for this train shall also be put in place.
Both services will strictly adhere to the COVID-19 preventive protocols and rakes, seats, laboratories will be sanitised frequently for the benefit of the travellers. The IRCTC services started on October 4, 2019, on the Lucknow-Delhi-Lucknow route while the Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Ahmedabad began on January 19, 2020. The private chair cars can ferry up to 700 people in one trip.
