Sprite and IRCTC Flag Off India's First Branded Train as the Sprite Tejas Express

Sprite and IRCTC Flag Off India's First Branded Train as the Sprite Tejas Express Sprite and IRCTC Flag Off India's First Branded Train as the Sprite Tejas Express.

Key points

• Abhishek Gupta, Vice President, Customer Development, Coca-Cola India & Southwest Asia, remarked, We congratulate IRCTC on this innovative partnership and an notable milestone for travel experiences in India.
• Globally together with its bottling partners, The Coca-Cola Firm employs more than 700, 000 residents, helping to bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide.
• The Sprite Tejas Express will operate on the Lucknow-New Delhi-Lucknow route, bringing Sprite's signature refreshment and experiences to Indian travellers.
• 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Rail travel has long been an integral part of India's mobility and social fabric, connecting cities, communities, and millions of passengers nationwide.
• While reaching travellers throughout business, leisure, and family journeys, the Delhi-Lucknow corridor offers Sprite an opportunity to connect with consumers throughout one of its key markets.

Meanwhile, the Sprite Tejas Express will operate on the Lucknow-New Delhi-Lucknow route, bringing Sprite's signature refreshment and experiences to Indian travellers.

NEW DELHI, Aug. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Rail travel has long been an integral part of India's mobility and social fabric, connecting cities, communities, and millions of passengers nationwide. In a first-of-its-kind partnership, Sprite and the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) today flagged off the Sprite Tejas Express, in the presence of senior leadership from Indian Railways, IRCTC and Coca-Cola India. Bringing together Sprite's signature refreshment with India's diverse travel culture, the partnership creates a new experience for passengers travelling between the two cities, where varied tastes, preferences and shared moments come together along the journey.

While reaching travellers throughout business, leisure, and family journeys, the Delhi-Lucknow corridor offers Sprite an opportunity to connect with consumers throughout one of its key markets. The Sprite Tejas Express will operate on the Lucknow-New Delhi-Lucknow route for six months starting August 2026, with five coaches featuring Sprite branding throughout the exterior. The train will additionally be unveiled as the Sprite Tejas Express at originating and en route stations on both legs of the journey.

Meanwhile, the experience extends onboard, with Sprite featuring as part of the passenger food bundle. The inauguration will additionally see passengers receive Sprite samples and merchandise, with the association set to bring further Sprite-led experiences onboard.

Abhishek Gupta, Vice President, Customer Development, Coca-Cola India & Southwest Asia, remarked, "We congratulate IRCTC on this innovative partnership and an notable milestone for travel experiences in India. At Coca-Cola, we continue to explore collaborations that can unlock new avenues for expansion and create shared value. Our association with IRCTC reflects our commitment to building long-term customer relationships and expanding our presence throughout the travel ecosystem. With the Sprite Tejas Express, we are bringing Sprite's refreshment and creating a more engaging experience for travellers."

Notably, the Sprite Tejas Express directly integrates sustainability into the passenger journey by incorporating practical, recycled material applications on ground. At the station, benches created from recycled plastic, with each bench repurposing approximately 45 kg of post-consumer packaging waste. Extending this approach to its ceremonial launch, the train's flag-off featured an official flag created from repurposed PET bottles, demonstrating how discarded materials can be transformed into functional and meaningful elements.

Ajit Kumar Sinha, Chief Regional Manager, Lucknow Division, IRCTC, remarked, "At IRCTC, we continuously look at opportunities to enhance the passenger experience throughout our premium train services through relevant partnerships and initiatives. Our association with Sprite on the Tejas Express brings an established consumer brand into the travel environment through an integrated onboard experience. We look forward to making the journey more engaging for passengers travelling on the Lucknow-New Delhi route."

Further building on Sprite's connection with food culture, the brand has additionally collaborated with Wow! Momo as part of the Sprite Tejas Express experience.

In practice, the Sprite Tejas Express marks a new association for Sprite, bringing the brand into the travel occasion and creating new opportunities to connect with consumers through the moments, preferences and experiences that shape their journeys.

Coca-Cola in India is one of the country's leading beverage firms, offering a range of high-quality and refreshing beverage options to consumers. The firm, in line with its vision of 'Beverages For Life' offers a wide portfolio of products which includes hydration, sports, sparkling, coffee, tea, nutrition, juice and dairy based products. In India its beverage range includes Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Thums Up XForce, Charged, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Kinley Soda, Rimzim, Maaza, Minute Maid range of juices and Honest Tea. The Firm additionally offers hydration beverages including Limca GlucoCharge, Smartwater, Kinley, Kinley Copper, Dasani and Bonaqua packaged drinking water. Premium products constitute Schweppes' range and Smartwater. Furthermore, it offers a Costa Coffee range of tea and coffee. The Firm is constantly transforming its portfolio, from reducing sugar in its drinks to bringing innovative new products to market.

For context, the Firm along with its owned bottling operations and franchise bottling partners has a robust network of over six million retail outlets through which it refreshes millions of consumers nationwide. It seeks to positively impact people's lives, communities, and the planet through water and packaging initiatives, sustainable agriculture and emission reductions throughout its value chain.

Globally together with its bottling partners, The Coca-Cola Firm employs more than 700, 000 residents, helping to bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn more at and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

"This is a firm press release that is not part of editorial content. No journalist of The Hindu was involved in the publication of this release."

For now, sprite and IRCTC Flag Off India' s First Branded Train as the Sprite remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.