Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu flagged off India’s first semi high-speed train Gatimaan Express on Delhi-Agra route, at a ceremony held at Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi
Gatimaan Express
Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu flagged off India’s first semi high-speed train Gatimaan Express on Delhi-Agra route, at a ceremony held at Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in Delhi. Capable of running at a maximum speed of 160 kmph, Gatiman express claims to cover the journey in 100 minutes. Following the inaugural run from H Nizamuddin, regular services will commence today from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station. Gatimaan Express runs six days a week, except Friday.
Powered by a 5500 HP electric locomotive, the non-stop train will have two Executive AC Chair Car and eight AC Chair Car coaches. The coaches have also been fitted with bio toilets. The fare for chair car in fully air conditioned Gatimaan Express has been fixed at INR 750, while for Executive Class it will be INR 1,500.
Minister Prabhu said marked the launch as a big achievement for Indian Railways and said, “Indian Railways shall run more Gatimaan trains on different sectors and this would enhance tourism in India. It is our aim to increase average speed of all passengers and freight trains and Indian Railways have already started working on mission ‘Raftaar’, which would be accomplished in five years’ time.”
Gatimaan’s onboard catering service is organised by Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). IRCTC has also made arrangements for deploying train hostesses onboard the train. Thr train will offer different cusines and free onboard entertainment facility through Wi-Fi service. IRCTC has also arranged two different Agra guided tour packages to coincide with the time table of Gatimaan Express.
Prabhu also inaugurated a new executive lounge constructed by IRCTC at Agra Cantonment railway station. Having a seating capacity for 75-80 persons, to be launched in phases, the lounge is located on Platform 1 of Agra Cantonment station. Designed like airport lounges, the lounge provides a range of complimentary and paid facilities such as meals on order, channel music, beverages, Wi-Fi facility, luggage racks for in-house passengers, wheel chairs, recliners, TV, train information display, and a business centre.
