On January 16, Thursday, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani inaugurated the prestigious Tejas Express at Ahmedabad and on Sunday, January 19, the train completed its first commercial run.
The train has been talk of the town since the last few days due to its luxurious look. It is country's second private express train and Vijay Rupani is of the opinion that the train will strengthen the cultural ties between Mumbai and Gujrat.
There were a few roadblocks that Tejas had to overcome before its commercial run. The most dominanat one being the threat from MNS. On Thursday, MNS demanded a change in the uniform of the train staff of Tejas Express. MNS leader Milind Panchal had threatened to teach a lesson in “MNS style” if “Maharashtrain culture was not represented” and the Gujarati uniform of the hosts was not changed during the return journey. Panchal was seen saying, “If Gujarati culture was represented when the train departed from Ahmedabad, why won’t Maharashtrian culture be represented when it left Mumbai".
Following this, the hosts on the train on Friday evening donned Gandhi caps on the return journey from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. The hosts donned Gandhi caps while offering services to passengers between Mumbai Central and Vapi stations.
The passengers on-board Tejas Express on Sunday had mixed things to say about their journey. Some of them felt that it was a great train but the timings need to be tweaked. In addition to this, there were again complaints in regards to stale food being served on-board the train.
Here are a few things that you may want to know about Tejas Express: