Tejas Express to make its debut today on Mumbai-Goa route

Tejas Express, which can run up to the speed of 200km per hour, will make its first run today between Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Karmali, North Goa

India’s state-of-the-art high-speed train Tejas Express, which can run up to the speed of 200km per hour, will make its first run on Monday between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai, and Karmali, North Goa. The train is going to cover a distance of 579km in 8.5 hours with halts at Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Ratnagiri and Kudal.

The 15-coach train will have two classes—chair car and executive chair car—and is equipped with facilities like secured gangways, automatic doors, LCD screens, Wi-Fi, tea-coffee vending machines, magazines, bio-toilets, hand dryers etc. The train has been specially designed by the India Railways to enhance the experience of the passengers and will be introduced on the Delhi-Chandigarh and Delhi-Lucknow routes too.

According to railway ministry officials, the high-speed train will be available at 10-20% higher fare as compared to Shatabdi. The executive class fare in Tejas has been fixed at Rs2,740 with food and Rs2,585 without food, while for chair car the fare is Rs1,310 with catering and Rs1,185 without catering. The Shatabdi fares are Rs2,390 and Rs1,185 for executive class and chair car, respectively, including food on the same route.

The national carrier has also decided to introduce different price mechanism for the train as per the season during it inauguration. The train fares for monsoon and non-monsoon seasons will be different. The frequency of train will be five days a week during the non-monsoon season and three days a week during the monsoon season.

The passengers travelling through Tejas will have a choice to opt for on-board catering services at the time of booking and it won’t be compulsory like in Shatabdi. In case, passengers decide to opt for catering service after boarding the train an extra Rs50 will be charged for the services.

A senior railway ministry official, on the condition of anonymity, said, “The fares for Tejas are substantially high and we are not sure if things are going to work out at such high prices. However, the railway minister is confident of success as he believes that passengers are ready to pay for facilities.”