IRCTC's Tejas trains fare to be 50 pc less than flights; no concession, VIP quota

New Delhi (India), Aug 27, 2019 (ANI): Fares of two Tejas trains to be operated by Indian Railway Tourism and Catering Corporation (IRCTC) will be 50 per cent less than that of flights on same routes, sources said on Tuesday.The railways' tourism and catering arm, IRCTC has been given the "flexibility" to fix the fares of the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express and the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Central Tejas Express as a test case ahead of railways' plans to rope in private players in the running of certain trains, they said.

It is worth mentioning that the ticket prices of these trains will remain lesser than flights during peak season. However, these trains will neither offer concession nor quota to any passenger even if they belong to the "VIP" category.

According to the provision of railways, tickets are provided at concessional rates to different categories, including senior citizens, differently-abled, patients and award winners. However, none of them can avail any concession in these trains. Also, children above the age of 5 years will be given no concession and they will also be charged a full fare, sources said.

While Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the railways and IRCTC is yet to be signed after which all the details will be finalised, it is expected that the Delhi-Lucknow Tejas will begin operations in October while the second one will begin in November.

In a bid to offer airplane-like features, the luxury Tejas Express train will employ premium coaches with Wi-Fi, automatic sliding doors and LCD infotainment screens.

The train coaches will come with several features like personalised reading lights, CCTV cameras, a buzzer to call the attendants and bio-vacuum toilets, they said.