First 'private' train to begin operations from Oct 4

New Delhi : The Lucknow-Delhi Tejas Express, the railways' first train to be run by its subsidiary IRCTC, will begin operations from October 4, officials said on Thursday.

According to them, the train's fare will be 50 per cent less than that of flights on the same route. The train will run six days a week, except on Tuesdays. It will have stoppages at Ghaziabad and Kanpur.

A decision on the second train -- the Mumbai Central-Ahmedabad Tejas Express -- also to be run by the IRCTC is yet to be taken.

No concession, privilege or duty passe will be allowed on these trains, according to a blueprint prepared by the Railway Board to handover the two trains to the railways' tourism and catering arm for a period of three years as a pilot project.

The railways also said that on-board ticket checking on IRCTC trains will not be done by the railway staff. The trains will be uniquely numbered and operated by the railways' operating staff -- loco, pilots, guards and station masters. Services of these two trains will be on par with the Shatabdi Express trains and given a similar priority, sources said.

Bringing in private train operators to provide world-class passenger service was a proposal mooted by the railways in its 100-day plan. Sources said handing over the two Tejas Express trains to IRCTC was a first step towards that goal.