In A First, IRCTC To Pay Fine Of Rs 1.62 Lakh To Over 900 Passengers For Tejas Express Delay

For the first time, the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is set to pay a hefty compensation of Rs 1.62 lakh to around 950 passengers for the delay in run time of the newly started Tejas Express.

Tejas Express runs between Delhi and Lucknow, to and fro. It is the first ever train to be operated by private players in India. It began its commercial service from 6th October for six days a week.

On October 19, Tejas Express observed a delay in schedule as it departed at 9:55 am from Lucknow instead of its scheduled departure at 6:10 am and reached New Delhi at 3:40 pm instead of 12:25 pm. It again departed from Delhi at 5:30 pm instead of 3:35 pm and reached Lucknow at 11:30 pm instead of 10:05 pm. The delay caused was attributed to derailment near Kanpur.

Ahead of its launch, IRCTC had announced that under its policy, compensation would be provided to the passengers in case of a delay. An amount of Rs 100 as compensation was decided for a delay over an hour and Rs 250 for a delay of over two hours.

The train carried 450 passengers while travelling from Delhi to Lucknow and was delayed for over two hours. These 450 passengers would be compensated with Rs 250. On the other hand, the train was delayed by more than an hour when travelling from Lucknow to Delhi with 500 passengers on board, all of whom would be reimbursed with Rs 100.

The compensation would be paid through the IRCTC’s insurance companies. The passengers can get reimbursement through the link provided with the tickets of Tejas Express.

Apart from the compensation for delay, Tejas Express also includes a cover of Rs 1 lakh against household thefts and robbery during the travel period of passengers.

This is for the first time since its launch that the Tejas Express was delayed by such a long time. Later on October 20, the Lucknow-Delhi train was a delayed by a good 24 minutes.

Earlier on October 4, during the flag off of the “first private train”, the All India Railway Men’s Federation (AIRF) had observed a protest against IRCTC’s move to give Tejas Express to the private sector.

Also Read: IRCTC Run ‘Private’ Tejas Express’ That Flaunts Aeroplane-Like Facilities, To Run From October 4