‘FOCUS ON LAUNCH OF AIIMS’
TEJAS Express will have to wait; PM not likely to launch it
Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com
Chennai:
The much-awaited launch of Chennai-Madurai day-time TEJAS Express, which was expected to be inaugurated by Prime minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the state on Sunday, will have to wait for a few more weeks.
A senior official in Southern Railway said, “We have been told that the focus has to remain only on the new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) that he will inaugurate.”
Sources said the train was ready to run and had been stationed at the Basin bridge train care centre near Chennai Central.
On December 31, RK Kulshrestha, general manager, SR, said Modi would flag off the train but did not specify any dates. Following this, senior officials said it was likely to be launched on January 27 when the PM was scheduled to visit Madurai.
The train is likely to be started by either the Prime minister or the union railway minister, Piyush Goyal, in the second week of February after the budget session of the Parliament gets over. Apart from the TEJAS express, a few other trains and schemes will also be flagged off by the ministers, sources added.
The TEJAS express would run at an average speed exceeding 70 kmph and would have a run time of six hours and 30 minutes, sources said.
It includes amenities such as on-board wifi, CCTV system, modular toilets and better seats. It will be the first premiere train linking Chennai-Egmore with southern districts.
J Mahendran, a frequent traveller from Chennai to Madurai, said many passengers had been eagerly waiting for the launch of the train for more than a month.
“We thought it would be launched during Pongal holidays. It is a high demand route and will surely be a success,” he said.
TEJAS Express will have to wait; PM not likely to launch it
Siddharth.Prabhakar@timesgroup.com
Chennai:
The much-awaited launch of Chennai-Madurai day-time TEJAS Express, which was expected to be inaugurated by Prime minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the state on Sunday, will have to wait for a few more weeks.
A senior official in Southern Railway said, “We have been told that the focus has to remain only on the new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) that he will inaugurate.”
Sources said the train was ready to run and had been stationed at the Basin bridge train care centre near Chennai Central.
On December 31, RK Kulshrestha, general manager, SR, said Modi would flag off the train but did not specify any dates. Following this, senior officials said it was likely to be launched on January 27 when the PM was scheduled to visit Madurai.
The train is likely to be started by either the Prime minister or the union railway minister, Piyush Goyal, in the second week of February after the budget session of the Parliament gets over. Apart from the TEJAS express, a few other trains and schemes will also be flagged off by the ministers, sources added.
The TEJAS express would run at an average speed exceeding 70 kmph and would have a run time of six hours and 30 minutes, sources said.
It includes amenities such as on-board wifi, CCTV system, modular toilets and better seats. It will be the first premiere train linking Chennai-Egmore with southern districts.
J Mahendran, a frequent traveller from Chennai to Madurai, said many passengers had been eagerly waiting for the launch of the train for more than a month.
“We thought it would be launched during Pongal holidays. It is a high demand route and will surely be a success,” he said.
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