The Ministry of Railways has approved the introduction of a new Tejas express between Chennai Egmore and Madurai. As per sources the train would be started within this month itself.
The train would depart Egmore at 6am and reach Madurai at 12.30pm. In the return direction, it would depart Madurai at 3pm and arrive Egmore at 9.30pm, making it one of the faster trains to cover the section. The train will halt at Tiruchirappalli and Kodaikanal Road enroute. The train will run on 6 days a week, Thursday being the off day.
The rake would be a LHB rake with 12 AC Chair cars, one executive Chair car and two luggage, guard cum generator vans. The LHB rolling stock is designed with a maximum permissible speed of 160kmph, but on the MS-MDU section the speed will be restricted to 110kmph.
The Tejas coaches have been designed to be passenger friendly with a lot of exclusive facilities like bio-vacuum toilets with occupancy indicator, water level indicators, tap sensors, hand dryers, integrated braille displays, aircraft type LED entertainment console for each passenger with phone sockets, local cuisine, celebrity chef menu, WiFi, tea and coffee vending machines, newspapers and magazines, snack tables, CCTV cameras, fire & smoke detectors, and noise suppression system. The fares will be about 20% higher than Shatabdi fares. The Tejas Express has ergonomically redesigned seats with e-leather which are designed to support your back better than conventional seats.
Image courtesy : Integral Coach Factory (ICF)