Tejas can give airlines tough competition
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Trichy:03.03.2019
The railways has introduced Tejas superfast express on the Madurai - Chennai sector in an effort to bring train journey at par with air travel offering world-class facilities at premium fare. Regular commuters say the train has the potential to offer tough competition to low-cost airlines on the Trichy – Chennai sector depending on the travel time cut. However, the present travel time of six and a half hours from Chennai to Madurai falls well short of expectations, they say.
As of now Alliance Air and IndiGo operate seven services a day on the Trichy-Chennai sector. The coaches of the fully air-conditioned train equipped with modern entertainment system, modular toilets, smart windows and GPS-based passenger information system among other features were made at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. The train has been well received in terms of its features, but not on travel time. When Vagai Express was inaugurated in 1977, it covered the same distance in 7 hours. Now it takes 40 minutes more.
According to V B Jagannath of Trichy Intra-City Development Endeavors (TIDES), Tejas would offer competition to Chennai-Trichy flights if there is a stoppage for it at Tambaram. Of course, airlines would still maintain their edge if they reduced fares. “Not sure how the patronage will be for the train as its fares are high. As the train is expected to cater to the affluent, it can easily attract air passengers. Since the Trichy-Chennai flight fares are exorbitant starting around ₹4,500 sometimes, taking Tejas should make more sense for them”, he added.
Two flights depart from Chennai at 4.55am and 5.45am everyday. Since Tejas departs at 6am from Chennai, it could have an impact on these flights, said the director of Naveen Travell, Trichy V Navaneethan. “It all depends on Tejas maintaining the right time and reducing the present travel time considerably,” said A Giri, member of DRUCC and Thanjavur District Rail Users Association.
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Trichy:03.03.2019
The railways has introduced Tejas superfast express on the Madurai - Chennai sector in an effort to bring train journey at par with air travel offering world-class facilities at premium fare. Regular commuters say the train has the potential to offer tough competition to low-cost airlines on the Trichy – Chennai sector depending on the travel time cut. However, the present travel time of six and a half hours from Chennai to Madurai falls well short of expectations, they say.
As of now Alliance Air and IndiGo operate seven services a day on the Trichy-Chennai sector. The coaches of the fully air-conditioned train equipped with modern entertainment system, modular toilets, smart windows and GPS-based passenger information system among other features were made at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. The train has been well received in terms of its features, but not on travel time. When Vagai Express was inaugurated in 1977, it covered the same distance in 7 hours. Now it takes 40 minutes more.
According to V B Jagannath of Trichy Intra-City Development Endeavors (TIDES), Tejas would offer competition to Chennai-Trichy flights if there is a stoppage for it at Tambaram. Of course, airlines would still maintain their edge if they reduced fares. “Not sure how the patronage will be for the train as its fares are high. As the train is expected to cater to the affluent, it can easily attract air passengers. Since the Trichy-Chennai flight fares are exorbitant starting around ₹4,500 sometimes, taking Tejas should make more sense for them”, he added.
Two flights depart from Chennai at 4.55am and 5.45am everyday. Since Tejas departs at 6am from Chennai, it could have an impact on these flights, said the director of Naveen Travell, Trichy V Navaneethan. “It all depends on Tejas maintaining the right time and reducing the present travel time considerably,” said A Giri, member of DRUCC and Thanjavur District Rail Users Association.
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