Indian Railways’ first privately-operated train on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad route, Tejas Express, has received a good response from passengers, ahead of its commercial run on January 19.
As on Sunday, the 736-seater Tejas Express has witnessed 70% (501 seats) occupancy, after the booking was opened on December 27 last year, officials from the Indian Rail Catering Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) said.
According to officials, the response is more from passengers booking from Ahmedabad. One of the factors for the higher occupancy from Gujarat could likely be due to the train timings, IRCTC said. The outstation train will commence its journey at 6.40am from Ahmedabad and reach Mumbai Central at 01.10pm on six days of the week, barring Thursdays. “Passengers from Ahmedabad have shown more interest. This could be because of the early morning timing of the train. However, there are still some days left for the first commercial run, so we will get a better idea only later,” said a senior IRCTC official.
Based on dynamic pricing, the ticket fare for an executive coach ticket is Rs 2,537, while an air-conditioned chair coach seat is available for Rs 1,347.
Tejas Express’ inaugural journey will commence on January 17, and it will likely be flagged off by Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani at 9.30am from Ahmedabad. With ministers onboard along with passengers, the train will reach Mumbai Central at 4.00pm.
This is Railways’ second privately-operated train, with the first operating on the Delhi-Lucknow route.
