Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express completes its first commercial run

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. 

Sir good morning you & Bjp govt did a great job, & started the tejas express, from MUMBAI to Ahamdabad, sir as per my surroundings information they want to changes in timings of tejas express, as so many trains on same time during this time,

Pls note on that

— jai giriraj BJP (@giriraj_jai) January 20, 2020

I am travelling by TEJAS EXPRESS seat Nunber C2/39
Break fast given in the morning sandwich Dhokla given, Chatni was stale Further to add when I travelled on 17th Mumbai Ahmedabad same train u was served non veg food . In the booking menu I have given option of veg food

— Mukesh Shah (@MukeshS54859388) January 20, 2020

@WesternRly @IRCTCofficial stale food in form of Dhokla served in New Tejas Express.82902.Morning 20th January 2020 pic.twitter.com/QOiHW7MjbM

— Kaushik Thakkar (@ktdt06) January 20, 2020

Great service at #TejasExpress
Thank you Crew Tejal, Farah
Attendent ,Anil Kumar
With both the managers Manisha and Shalu.@PiyushGoyal @IRCTCofficial

— Indian Nari (@Ms_Asthana) January 19, 2020

Great services & comfortable seats for the journey... @IRCTCofficial have upgraded the level 👌👌 @PiyushGoyal #Tejasexpress pic.twitter.com/oJTCGmnkel

— Jay Joshi (@jayjoshi940) January 20, 2020

Here are a few things that you may want to know about Tejas Express:

• Booking: The tickets for the train can be booked on IRCTC website and its mobile app 'Irctc Rail Connect'. There will be no booking at railway reservation counters, as per IRCTC in a press release.

• Capacity:  The passenger train has a capacity of carrying more than 700 passengers. The train has two AC executive class chair cars and eight AC chair cars.

• Timings: Ahmedabad to Mumbai Tejas Express will commence its journey from Ahmedabad at 6:40 am and reach Mumbai Central at 1:10 pm. On the return journey, it will depart from Mumbai Central at 3:40 pm and arrive in Ahmedabad at 9:55 pm. 

• Where Will The Train Halt: The train will halt at Nadiad, Vadodara, Bharuch, Surat, Vapi and Borivali stations in both directions.

• Fare:  The fare for executive chair car from Ahmedabad to Mumbai is ₹2,384. This includes base fair of ₹1,875, GST of ₹94 and catering charge of ₹415. The fare of AC chair car will be ₹1,289, which includes base fair of ₹870, GST ₹44 and catering charge ₹375.

• Food: Passengers will be served welcome tea, breakfast and combo lunch/snacks in Ahmedabad-Mumbai Tejas Express. In addition, tea and coffee vending machines will be available in the train and each coach will have a RO water filter machine.