Tejas Express: Passengers steal headphones, scratch LCD screens on first journey
The Mumbai-Goa superfast train made its first trip on Tuesday.
The launch the superfast Mumbai-Goa Tejas Express received much coverage, but its first journey back to Mumbai is in the news for different reasons. After the express returned to Mumbai on Tuesday, it was reported that several passengers had stolen headphones and attempted to crack the LCD television screens on the train, according to Mumbai Mirror. Besides this, the train had also been heavily littered and the toilets were left unclean by the passengers, The Asian Age reported.
The luxury train, which was launched on Monday, has several facilities including WiFi, bio-toilets, leather seats and vending machines. However, officials told Mumbai Mirror that “at least a dozen” headphones had been stolen during its first trip, and several LCD screens had been scratched and damaged. “The headphones were distributed just after the journey commenced. There wasn’t an announcement to return the headphones because we expected passengers to not carry them away, just like they don’t take away pillows and blankets,” the official told the daily.
Senior divisional security commissioner, Sachin Bhalode said railway officials would check CCTV footage to identify the culprits. Central Railway Public Relations Officer Narendra Patil admitted that the train had returned to CST Mumbai in bad shape, and appealed to the public to keep trains clean. “We, the Indian Railways, want to appeal to the people of India to use these facilities with a sense of responsibility. After all, the railways belong to us and not just the government,” he said.
Tickets from Mumbai to Karmali on the Tejas Express costs Rs 1,190, while an executive seat is Rs 2,590. Travelling on it from Mumbai to Ratnagiri costs Rs 835, and an executive seat goes for Rs 1,785. The train operates on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The Tejas Express is scheduled to leave Mumbai at 5 am and reach Goa at 1.30 pm. On its way back, it will leave Goa at 2.30 pm and reach Mumbai at 11 pm.