LUCKNOW:
Lucknow-New Delhi Tejas Express
, the first corporatised train of the Indian Railways, will begin operation from October 4. The train, in all likelihood, will be flagged off by chief minister
Yogi Adityanath. On the inaugural day, the train would not run on its scheduled time from Lucknow.
The commercial operation of the train, however, would start the same day with the return service from New Delhi operating as per the scheduled time.
It would be the fastest train between Lucknow and New Delhi with travel time of about six hours and fifteen minutes.
The train was announced in 2016 as a high-end service between Lucknow Junction and Anand Vihar Terminal. Though it has been finding mention in the railway timetable all the while, things were never clear on its date of introduction.
Things started moving for the train only after the Railway Board decided to hand over its operation to Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
The train would start from Lucknow in the morning at 6.10 hours to reach New Delhi at 12.25 hours. On return, it would start from New Delhi at 4.30pm and reach Lucknow at 10.45pm.
The train would have an executive class and a chair car and 12 coaches with a carrying capacity of 758 passengers. The train would stop at Kanpur central and Ghaziabad.