Tejas train to be flagged off on Monday

Monday will see the inaugural run of Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu's pet project- India's first Tejas Express between Mumbai and Karmali in Goa.

Commuters wanting to travel by the executive AC Chair car (1A) will have to shell out Rs 2,740, including catering charges, to travel between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Mumbai (CSTM) and Karmali while those wanting to commute in AC Chair car (CC) will have to pay Rs 1,310 for the same journey with catering charges included.

According to the Central Railway (CR) officials the state of the art train, which was developed by Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala, is capable of running at the speed of 200 kmph and boasts of features like touch screen panels for every seat, comfortable reclining seats, automatic doors and even bio vacuum toilets. The 19 coach train will have one Executive AC Chair car and 12 AC Chair car (CC).

While the inaugural train will be flagged off from CSTM on Monday at 3.25pm and will reach Karmali at 12.35 am on Tuesday, the regular schedule of the train from May 24 will be different.

"From May 24, the Superfast Tejas Express will leave CSTM at 5 am every Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and will reach Karmali at 1.30 pm the same day with halts at Dadar, Thane, Panvel, Ratnagiri, and Kudal," an official said.

However, during the monsoon — from June 10 to October 31 — the train will run only on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.