Commuters at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus were pleasantly surprised to see the Tejas Express arrive a minute ahead of schedule on Sunday, considering that it had departed Karmali station in Goa after a three-hour delay.
The luxury train, capable of running at a maximum speed of 200 kmph, train left Goa at 10.30 am and travelled 750 km to reach Mumbai at 7.44 pm.
This was the train’s maiden journey under the new monsoon timetable, put in place as a safety measure against the rough terrain. The premium train will run thrice a week from Mumbai and will return from Goa the next day. It is expected to take 12 or 15 hours to reach its destination, as against the usual eight-and-a-half hours.
“An empty coach from Mumbai arrived late, delaying the train’s departure. The changed timetable led to the delay. This train is always on time otherwise,” said LK Verma, Chief Spokesperson of the Konkan Railway.
The train had reached Kudal two hours and 17 minutes late. It reached Ratnagiri an hour late. Panvel commuters said that the train arrived 14 minutes late.
The train has powerful electro-numatic breaking systems. To make up for lost time, it travelled at 153 kmph between Karmali and Kudal, at 137 kmph between Kudal and Ratnagiri and 125 kmph between Ratnagri and Panvel.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu flagged off the 13-coach train on May 22. The state-of-the-art train has several facilities on-board, such as WiFi, infotainment screens, vacuum bio toilets and automatic doors.
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