The most awaited luxurious train of India, ‘Tejas Express’ has been launched by Central Railway minister Suresh Prabhu at Chatrapathi Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai on Monday. The train no. 22119, Tejas Superfast Express, which has flight-like onboard facilities, will take less than nine hours to cover the 630 km distance from Mumbai to Goa. The maximum speed of the train will be around 130 kmph. A top railway official described Tejas Express as ‘aeroplane moving on the ground’. Let’s take a look into its facilities.
1. Designed completely by Indian Technology, this train was made at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, Punjab. The bright orange yellow colored train boasts of graffiti free, vinyl wrapped specially designed exteriors. All the entrance doors in the compartments are automated.
2. The train is dirt and dust free. It is made with a technology where the walls of compartments will not hold any dust on them and the dirt can be easily cleaned. The toilets have bio-vacuum facility and are also fitted with hand dryers, toilet papers, automatic water level indicators and touch-less taps.
3. The train has an advanced breaking system and safety measures like fire/smoke detection and suppression systems. The coaches have designed to reach the speeds of 200 Kmph but are being operated around 130 Kmph because of route constraints. The coaches will also have a GPS-based passenger information display system and a digital destination board. Tejas Express also has a ‘Braille Assistance’ system to facilitate the passengers with visual impairment.
4. ‘Tejas Express’ will have only one AC Executive chair car coach with 56 seats and 12 AC chair cars with 78 seats each. The coaches are well equipped with Wi-Fi, Coffee Wending machines, LCD screens for on board entertainment and specified food options. Considering the facilities provided, the prices are bit higher than the Shatabdhi Express. The executive coach price is Rs.2,680 (inclusive of food) and Rs.2,525 (exclusive of food). The normal AC chair car price is Rs.1,280 (including food) and Rs.1,155 (excluding food).
5. The Tejas Express would run between Mumbai-Goa (Karmali) for 5 days a week during the
Non-Monsoon period and 3 days a week during the Monsoon period. Railways said that within the first few hours of booking for the train, around 207 passengers booked tickets for AC chair car and 10 members for the executive coach. The train would halt at Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Ratnagiri and Kudal stations. After running in this route successfully, the government is planning to start the service in Delhi-Lucknow and Delhi-Chandigarh routes respectively.
