Soon cover Mumbai-Goa distance in 10 hours 40 minutes, courtesy Tejas train

Mumbaiites’ favourite tourist destination, Goa, just got a little closer as it will soon take them 10 and a half hours to reach there with the Railways announcing a premium Tejas train between CST and Goa’s Karmali

Mumbaiites’ favourite tourist destination, Goa, just got a little closer as it will soon take them 10 and a half hours to reach there with the Railways announcing a premium Tejas train between CST and Goa’s Karmali.

As per the newly released timetable, the train will depart from CST at 0.20 am and reach Karmali on the same day at 11 am. (HT Photo for Representation)

Though the train has been included in the western zone timetable of Indian Railways that will be effective from Saturday, the date from when it will be operational will be declared later.

While presenting 2016-17 railway budget in the Parliament, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu had announced the Superfast Tejas trains. According to sources, the train will have on board entertainment facility along with Wi-Fi. The train will take passengers to Goa from Mumbai in 10 hours 40 minutes, as compared to the other direct trains that take 11 to 12.30 hours.

As per the newly released timetable, the train will depart from CST at 0.20 am and reach Karmali on the same day at 11 am. It would take 10 hours 40 minutes to cover the distance. For the return journey it will depart from Karmali at 12.20pm and arrive at CST at 10.45pm, which is even lesser (10 hours 25 minutes).

The train will run on five days of the week except on Monday and Wednesday. Enroute, the train will halt at seven limited stops namely Thane, Panvel,Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Kudal and Thivim. Railway sources are hopeful that this train will reduce some load on Konkan Kanya express, which is one of the most popular trains on this route.

Mumbai-Goa route witnesses heavy passenger traffic throughout the year. Despite popular trains like Konkan Kanya Express, Mondavi Express, Janshatabdi Express and some others, passengers still are unable to get confirmed tickets. Especially, trains that depart from Mumbai late at night and reach Goa in the morning, are more in demand.