NEW DELHI: The Lucknow-Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express will become the country’s first privately branded train from Aug 20, with the IRCTC-operated service set to be known as the ‘Sprite’ Tejas Express for at least six months.The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has approved a proposal from M/s Sprite, a unit of Coca-Cola India, to prefix the train’s name with “Sprite”. The company has also been allowed to wrap five coaches with vinyl branding for six months and has paid nearly Rs 91 lakh for the branding rights.“Other companies can also apply for vinyl wrapping of the remaining coaches. The branding is being done as per policy and on a first-come-first-serve basis. This is a source of non-fare revenue for IRCTC,” an official said.The move comes after the launch of the country’s first “corporate train” in December 2021, when the railways began exploring private participation in passenger train operations.IRCTC also permits group bookings on its Tejas trains, allowing corporate groups and those travelling for weddings or other social events to book an entire AC Chair Car coach with 78 seats.Three such trains were initially operated as pilots, but the scheme failed to take off. At present, two such services are operational — Delhi-Lucknow Tejas and Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas.
