India’s railway advertising business is moving past conventional advertisements on coaches and stations. The Lucknow-Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express is set to be announced as the ‘Sprite’ Tejas Express, making it the first train in India to have a commercial brand incorporated into its name.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has awarded train-branding advertising rights to Sprite for six months. While the arrangement does not change who operates the train, it launches a new way of using a premium passenger service as a commercial advertising property.
What Is The Tejas Express?
The Lucknow-Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express is a fully air-conditioned premium train operated by IRCTC. The service offers onboard food and beverages, as well as infotainment facilities, making it a more premium passenger experience.
The train accommodates group bookings, allowing travelers attending corporate meetings, weddings, or social events to reserve an entire AC Chair Car coach with 78 seats. While IRCTC operates the service, it utilizes Indian Railways infrastructure and pays hauling charges that cover the use of tracks and stations.
Why Is The Tejas Express Becoming The ‘Sprite’ Tejas Express And What Makes It Significant?
IRCTC has granted Sprite advertising rights for branding the Lucknow-Delhi-Lucknow Tejas Express for six months via a Letter of Acceptance. Train 82501/82502 will be announced as the ‘Sprite’ Tejas Express from August 19 to November 11, 2026, at both originating and en route stations in each direction.
While advertising on Indian trains is not unprecedented, previous initiatives have primarily involved exterior advertisements on coaches as income-generating measures. The current arrangement is distinct in that it incorporates a commercial brand into the train’s official name. This marks the first instance of an Indian train being named after a brand, thereby extending railway advertising beyond conventional display formats.
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What Do IRCTC And Sprite Gain From The Deal?
For IRCTC, the agreement creates another way to use an existing railway asset commercially beyond passenger fares. Selling branding rights can generate advertising revenue while the underlying train service keeps operating as before. The financial value of the Sprite agreement has not been revealed.
For Sprite, the partnership provides visibility that goes beyond an advertisement placed inside a coach or at a single station. Its name becomes associated with a premium train traveling between Lucknow and Delhi and will also feature in announcements at stations along the route. In effect, the train becomes a moving advertising property capable of carrying the brand across multiple locations.
Could The Sprite Tejas Express Create A New Railway Advertising Model?
This agreement may broaden the scope of commercial marketing opportunities for trains. Rather than purchasing individual advertising spaces, companies could associate their brands with entire train services, thereby providing railway operators with a new category of advertising inventory.
The Tejas Express serves as a suitable platform for this initiative due to its positioning as a premium service with modern passenger amenities. If train naming demonstrates commercial viability, similar partnerships may emerge with other services. However, there is currently no confirmation of plans for additional branded trains, and it remains uncertain whether this approach will develop into a broader advertising model.
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How Is This Different From Regular Train Advertising?
Despite the ‘Sprite’ name, the company is not taking ownership or operational control of the Tejas Express. IRCTC continues to operate the service and pays Indian Railways hauling charges for access to railway infrastructure, including tracks and stations. Sprite’s involvement is limited to the commercial branding arrangement. That distinction is also what separates this deal from conventional railway advertising. Companies have previously been able to advertise on train exteriors, but those advertisements did not become part of the train’s name. With the ‘Sprite’ Tejas Express, the brand enters the service’s public-facing identity through station announcements, creating a more integrated form of advertising.
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Summing Up
The ‘Sprite’ Tejas Express represents more than a temporary name change. From a business perspective, it illustrates how the visibility of a passenger train can be transformed into a commercial advertising asset.
For IRCTC, this arrangement creates an additional opportunity to monetize a premium service, while Sprite acquires a branding platform that traverses a major intercity route. The long-term significance for railway advertising in India will depend on whether this initiative remains a singular partnership or establishes a template for future branded trains.
