Tejas Express reaches Goa 2 hours early

MUMBAI : The Csmt-karmali Tejas Express, one of the premium and popular trains on the Mumbai-goa route, on Friday, covered the distance two hours before its scheduled time, during a speed trials.

At a speed of 120 kmph, the train reached Goa in eight and a half hours, instead of the regular ten and a half hours.

To reduce the travelling time of the train, especially in the Konkan Railway (KR) section, between Roha and Karmali, the railways conducted the speed trial of Tejas Express.

If the trials are successful, it could run at the speed of Rajdhani Express —120 kmph — on the Konkan route.

For the trial, the train departed at 5.04am from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and reached Karmali at 1.35pm.

The trial was conducted in the CSMT-ROHA and Roha-karmali sections at speed of 110 kmph and 120 kmph speed respectively. No passengers were in the train.

Officers said the train took two hours, 23 minutes to reach Roha.

From there, it took five hours, 55 minutes to reach Karmali, after a 13-minute break at Roha.

Launched on May 22, 2017, Tejas Express is the fastest train on the route. Its coaches are capable of running at 200kmph and have state-of-the-art facilities.

A Konkan Railway officer said the train needs at least two to three more stops, preferably at Kankavli and Sawantwadi, for better passenger patronage, instead of just reducing the travel time.

“The CR increased speed restriction in its section. If the train is able to save 25-30 minutes here, two stops can be introduced.”