Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Friday, flagged the country’s first private semi-high speed train, Tejas Express from Lucknow. The corporate train will run from Lucknow to Delhi six days a week.

While flagging off the train, Mr. Adityanath thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for gifting the train on the route. He said that the train was an example of modern technology in railways.

Ashwini Srivastava, Chief Regional Manager of the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) said that the commercial run would start from Saturday onwards.

With a maximum speed of 200 kmph, Tejas will cover the distance between Mumbai and Goa in eight and half hours. The train will have executive class and chair class. The coaches will have tea and coffee vending machines, magazines, snacks tables, LCD screens, and Wi-Fi. Fare of the train is said to be more than 20 per cent of the Shatapdi ticket. ₹1,200 minimum for AC chair car and ₹2,700 for executive class. Rated among one of the best in the world, Maharaja Express train flagged off in 2010. It offers various travel packages with train fares ranging from around $3,000 (₹2 lakh), and going up to nearly $24,000 (₹16 lakh). Another luxury train that traverses across South India only, is the Golden Chariot. It offers grand tours across the States. Popular for its ethnic decor, Palace on Wheels travels across Delhi, Agra and Jaipur among other adjacent cities. As the name suggest, the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels is all about royalty and comfort. With about 13 luxury cabins, the train takes one on a tour around historical places in Rajasthan. In its 'Sheesh Mahal' restaurant, the Royal Rajasthan on Wheels provides various Indian cuisines, beverages coupled with great music. The Deccan Odyssey Train provides six destination journeys that covers Maharashtra and parts of north India. The train was inaugurated in 2004.

As per the schedule, the train will leave Lucknow at 6.10 a.m. and reach the New Delhi railway station at 12.25 p.m., covering the entire distance in 6 hours and 15 minutes. The journey time of the train is lesser than the Swarn Shatabdi — currently the fastest train on the route.

Tejas Express would only have two halts — Kanpur and Ghaziabad. On its return journey, the train would leave Delhi at 3.35 p.m. and reach Lucknow at 10.05 p.m. The train will begin its journey from Lucknow at 6.10 a.m. and reach Delhi at 12.25 p.m. with halts at Kanpur and Ghaziabad.

Tejas, which is India’s first private train run by IRCTC, will have one executive class air conditioned chair car with 56 and nine air-conditioned chair car coaches with a capacity of 78 passengers in each coach.

For the new Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express, IRCTC will also extend the facilities of taxi hiring, hotel bookings to those passengers who need it.

All the passengers travelling by Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will be provided a free insurance of up to ₹10 lakh by the IRCTC. The passengers will also be allowed to use the executive lounge of the New Delhi railway station. The facility of using retiring rooms at the Lucknow junction station will also be provided.

Meals will be served by on-board service staff. Tea and coffee vending machines will be available in the train. Water will be provided on demand through RO machines for passengers. IRCTC is also contemplating on the sale of merchandise goods on board to its passengers on these trains.

The Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will have an advance reservation period of 60 days. No concessions, privileges or duty passes will be allowed on these trains.

Tejas Express contains all the modern facilities with the state-of-art interior, personalised reading lights, AC coaches, mobile charging points, CCTV cameras, bio-toilets, LED TV, automatic doors and many more.