IGI Logo

The two Tejas Express trains -- New Delhi-Lucknow and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad -- operated by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will again run from February 14, almost 10 months after suspending the service in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

The IRCTC, in a statement, said that it is all set to restart the operation of its fleet of the first corporate Train, Tejas Express, to cater to the growing passenger demand.

"Both the trains are to restart operations from February 14," it said.

The IRCTC said that the operations of the trains are being resumed after it got the approval from Ministry of Railways with a new schedule.

It said that it has made all round preparations to ensure that the trains once started match the expectation of the people in terms of levels of services and safety and health protocols amidst the ongoing pandemic.

It also said that the bookings for all the seats shall be opened for four days per week, i.e. Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

It also said that the fare for Lucknow to New Delhi is Rs 870 and from Kanpur to New Delhi is Rs 780.

It said that there has been a substantial rationalisation of fare by reducing fare up to 40 per cent of passenger bookings (273 seats) and there shall not be any increase in base fare in the passenger fare.

"Thereafter, under dynamic fare pricing methodology, there shall be 10 per cent incremental range up to maximum of 30 per cent of fare. There shall not any further increase of fare," it said.

It also said that there shall be 30 days advance reservation period (ARP) for this train.

Each Tejas Express shall have more than 700 passengers capacity and the passengers will be provided a Covid-19 protection kit which will contain a bottle of hand sanitiser, one mask and one pair of gloves.

Passengers will also go through thermal screening and hand sanitisation process before entering the coach.

It also said that the coach including pantry areas and lavatories will be thoroughly disinfected at regular intervals. The luggage and baggage of the passengers will be disinfected by a staffer deputed for this purpose.

"Cleaning and regular disinfection of frequently touched surface inside the coach will be done. The service trays and trolleys will also be disinfected," it said.

"The feature of paying compensation to passengers in case of delay will be available to the passengers after the restart of the operations of these two Tejas Trains," it added.