Tamil Nadu: Tejas Express packed on weekends, empty during week

CHENNAI: A week after Southern Railway launched the Chennai-Madurai-Chennai premium Tejas Express , tickets for the train are selling like hot cakes during the weekends. The service is, however, yet to gather steam on weekdays, with only 50% of tickets finding takers.


The train is fully air-conditioned and offers amenities like on-board Wi-Fi, CCTV camera system, modular toilets and better seats.

Reservation statistics showed that the train is fully booked on Sundays on its leg from Madurai to Chennai. On the Chennai-Madurai leg, around 80% of seats were sold on Saturday. J Mahendran, a regular commuter from Chennai to Madurai, said the train ran full from Madurai on Sunday last.

The train departs from Chennai Egmore at 6am, reaches Trichy at 10:23am, Kodai Road at 11:38am and Madurai at 12:30pm. On the return journey, it leaves Madurai at 3pm and reaches Egmore at 9:30pm.

Railway officials are confident that the service would create a dent in the business of the Chennai-Madurai and Chennai-Trichy omni buses which run in the morning. Not only are the fares competitive, but travel time is reduced by at least 30 minutes to one hour. Should the passenger choose to have a meal on board, costs would rise accordingly.

For instance, the fastest omni bus, which leaves Chennai at 6am, reaches Trichy at 11:45am. The fastest omni bus to Madurai leaving at 6am takes 7-and-a half hours to reach its destination. Ticket prices for an omni bus to Madurai, however, are lower on weekdays compared to Tejas Express’ chair car fare.

In addition, initial trends show that the service arrives 15 minutes ahead of schedule on at least one-third of all running days. On the day it was held for one hour due to a goods train passing, a complimentary meal was given to passengers.

A senior railways official said the run-time of four hours and 20 minutes to Trichy will help attract those who drive down in their own vehicles. “Due to traffic congestion on the Perungalathur-Tindivanam stretch, it takes at least five hours. And it is costlier too,” the official said.

Officials said more passengers will will book tickets up to Kodai Road in the summer Railway officials are planning to market the Chennai-Trichy and Madurai-Chennai leg to frequent fliers who travel for business meetings. “Considering the check-in, check-out time and the distance between the city centre and the airport, Tejas Express would be a better option vis-à-vis the cost,” said the official.