IRCTC to suspend operations of Tejas Express trains

The Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation Limited has decided to suspend its operations of Lucknow-Delhi and Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas Express trains due to low occupancy. Currently, the occupancy rate has been less than 25 per cent in these trains.

New Delhi: The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has decided to suspend the operations of Tejas Express once again, due to low occupancy in trains. The New Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will be suspended from Monday, while the Mumbai-Ahmedabad will be suspended from Tuesday.

IRCTC had resumed the operations of Tejas Express on October 17, which were halted due to Coronavirus induced nationwide lockdown. But the private train failed to entice passengers amid COVID-19 pandemic that has forced IRCTC to stop its services.

However, in an official statement, IRCTC has said that the decision may be reviewed after seeing the occupancy of trains in these sectors in future.

While resuming its services, IRCTC had assured the passengers that all COVID-19 protocols will be followed to prevent the spread of the virus. It was announced that all the passengers will be provided with a COVID-19 protection kit, containing a bottle of hand sanitizers, mask, face shield and a pair of gloves and that passengers will go through thermal screening and hand sanitization before entering the coach, they will not be allowed to exchange their seats once seated, use of face covers or masks will be mandatory.

The operations of Tejas Express were started amid the festive season. Therefore, low passenger demand came as a surprise for IRCTC. Currently, the occupancy rate has been less than 25 per cent in these trains.