Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off the first Tejas Express to be operated by the Southern Railway. The train will ply between Chennai Egmore and Madurai.
The inaugural train with 68 passengers on board that chugged out of Madurai railway station is the first rail service to be introduced after completion of work on the doubling of chord line railway tracks between Chennai and Madurai. Mr. Modi flagged it off from Kanniyakumari through video conference.
The rakes, with 15 swanky air-conditioned coaches, have several new features which promise a new travel experience. The train comprises one executive chair car coach with 56 seats and 12 chair car coaches with 78 seats each, and two power cars.
The seats in both the executive chair car (2+2 seating arrangement) and the chair car (2+3 seating) have plenty of boot space with reclining facility. Passengers can also use thigh support in the executive class at the push of a button. A foot rest and a dining table embedded in the arm rest are some of the luxuries on offer. Another important passenger-friendly feature is a flight-like audio-visual entertainment display system. Bottle holders, book holders and plug points for charging mobile phones are among the added features.
Smart windows with motor-operated venetian blinds sandwiched between glasses add to the aesthetics of the coaches. The coaches have a bio-vacuum system, sensor-based soap dispensers and hand driers.
Safety and security
The coaches have sliding doors which would be operated by a guard. As soon as the signal for the train to move out of the station is received, the guard will close the sliding doors of all the coaches. This would ensure safety and security of passengers. However, passengers who have the habit of getting down from the trains at platforms as soon as they halt at stations should be wary about this safety feature.
“Many tend to board trains as they start chugging out. But in this case, the doors will close before the train leaves. If there is no one to manually open them, people may end up missing the train,” said a Travelling Ticket Examiner.
The coaches are equipped with CCTVs. “The data of each camera would be stored for 30 days,” said a Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer. The coaches also have smoke detectors. “If smoke is detected, the system will raise an alarm. If the smoke is not put out, the system will shut down the train,” he added.
Passengers happy
S. Lakshmi, 71, a frequent traveller, made use of the inaugural run of Tejas Express. A retired official from the Department of Post, Ms. Lakshmi chose to travel alone from Madurai to Tiruchi, only to get a feel of the new train. “I will come back by Vaigai Express to Madurai,” she said.
Maya Suresh, 53, a music teacher at a city college, was also part of the inaugural run of the train. “My aunt used to often recall her experience travelling as part of the inaugural run of Vaigai Express decades ago. I too thought of making use of the first journey of Tejas Express. It was really comfortable,” she said after travelling up to Kodaikanal Road.
