Over 2,000 bookings in IRCTCs Tejas Express in first two days; combo meals on offer

More than 2,000 passengers have booked tickets in the first IRCTC-run train, Tejas Express, from Lucknow to New Delhi and back, within two days of opening of counters, officials said on Sunday.

The bookings for the Tejas trains - number 82501 from Lucknow to Delhi and 82502 from Delhi to Lucknow -- began on Saturday.

As on Sunday evening, while the Tejas train from Lucknow to Delhi has 749 bookings, on its return journey it has 1,549 for journeys to be taken till November 20, the officials said.

Most bookings are between October 23 and October 26, just ahead of Diwali.

This is the first train of the Indian Railways that will be fully run by its subsidiary IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) and is the national transporter's first step towards privatising operations of some trains.

Bringing in private operators to provide world-class passenger amenities was a proposal mooted by the railways in its first 100-day agenda under the Modi 2.0 government as part of its move to hand over certain trains to private players.

Passengers will also, for the first time, have the option of choose combo meals on board -- catering charges of Rs 185 for AC chair car and Rs 245 for Executive Chair Car are included in the ticket prices -- for the full length of the journey (Lucknow to Delhi).

The maximum charge (Delhi to Lucknow) will be Rs 340 and Rs 385 respectivel