With Tejas date looming, rake still not ready

The good news for Mumbaikars is that the Mumbai CST-Goa Tejas might be the first of the routes nationwide for the Railways' most premium train offering yet. The better news is that at a function in Mumbai recently, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said that the Mumbai-Goa Tejas Express could be flagged off by the first week of April. It goes downhill from there because the Railway Ministry, in a query from DNA, on Friday said the first Tejas rake is not ready yet. A Railway Ministry spokesperson said the rake is still under construction at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala.

The production schedule for RCF, which was finalised in mid-2016, included the construction of 60 Tejas coaches. Up till now, however, about 20 coaches are under construction.

The Railways had missed a number of deadlines. At a recent event in New Delhi, Prabhu set a June deadline for the first Tejas Express.

The earlier deadline of June 30, 2016 has passed, and the new March 31, 2017 deadline might not be met, said officials.

The three routes on which the Tejas will be introduced are New Delhi-Chandigarh, Lucknow-Anand Vihar and CST-Madgaon Karmali. Prabhu had also announced a Mumbai-Surat Tejas Express in February, though officials said it is still 'very early days' for the fourth route.

BEHIND SCHEDULE

• A railway ministry spokesperson said the rake is still under construction at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala.
   
• The production schedule for RCF, which was finalised in mid-2016, included the construction of 60 Tejas coaches. Up till now, however, about 20 coaches are under construction.