LUCKNOW, Aug. 21 -- The Lucknow-New Delhi Tejas Express has become India's first commercially branded passenger train marking a new experiment by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) Ltd to tap non-fare revenue from premium railway services.

The train, named and to be announced as 'Sprite Tejas Express', was flagged off from Lucknow on Friday. Six of its coaches were wrapped and branded under a six-month commercial arrangement beginning August 21. The company paid approximately Rs.91 lakh for the wrapping and branding exercise. The branding covers train numbers 82501/82502.

Earlier, under a partnership, the IRCTC gave its nod to a proposal from M/s Sprite, a unit of Coca-Cola India, to prefix the train's name with...