Shatabdi Express
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Shatabdi Expresses are a series of superfast passenger trains which are being operated by Indian Railways, to serve as connections between Metro towns and important cities and business centers. Shatabadi Expresses are day trains and they return to the station of origin, the same day.
Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express are the fastest trains in India and Railways considers them as prestigious trains. While Shatabdi Express series of trains run over a short distance, Rajdhani Expresses are long-distance trains connecting the National Capital of Delhi to various State Capitals. Both series of trains have a regular speed of 130 km/h. The fastest train in India though is the New Delhi - Bhopal Shatabdi Express which runs at a speed of 150 km/h.
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[edit] History
The name "Shatabdi" means centenary in Hindi - the first Shatabdi was introduced in 1988 to commemorate the birth centenary of Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Shri Madhav Rao Scindhia was Indian Railway minister at that point of time and Shatabadi Express was his brainchild.
[edit] The Train
Shatabdi Expresses offer fast connectivity with very few stops in between. They are fully air-conditioned and are very luxurious (at least by Indian standards) and comfortable to travel in. A variant of Shatabadi Express, which is known as Swarna Shatabadi Express, which is considered as more luxurious by the Indian Railways. Due to some political compulsions, Indian Railways later introduced a lower-priced version called Jan-Shatabdi Expresses, which were mostly without air-conditioning and had lower fares. Along with luxury, Shatabdi Express travellers are provided with delicious snacks, breakfast/meals, coffee/tea, One litre water can, and a juice.
[edit] Shatabadi in Today's Scenario
The train was considered a landmark, when it was introduced in India wayback in 1988, in fact it was criticized heavily by a section of society at that point of time for its luxury in a poor country. However, with the passage of time and libralised Indian economy and monopolistic Indian Rail, today's train is far below the global standards of luxury and speed. Shatabadi, the fastest train of India runs at an average speed of around 80 kms per hour (Please see : Fastest trains in India). There are maintenence and service issues with these trains and since there is no competition in the pasenger services of the Indian Rail, little emphasis is given on the improvement of the services. Furthermore, Indian aviation sector is witnessing stiff competition and various airlines including low-cost carriers are pushing into the low-cost market on domestic routes; which in turn makes it attractive for the upper segment of rail passengers to shift to air travel. This makes it increasingly difficult for the Shatabdi and the Rajdhani Express to keep their customers, also due to an inability to maintain a high level of service.[1]
[edit] The Destinations
Today, Indian Railways operates 12 pairs of Shatabdi Expresses and 16 pairs of Jan-Shatabdi Expresses. Out of the 12 Shatabdi Expresses, 8 originate from New Delhi (to Bhopal, Lucknow, 2 to Amritsar, 2 to Kalka, Ajmer and Dehradun), two from Chennai (to Bangalore and Mysore) and one each from Kolkata (to Ranchi) and Mumbai (to Ahmedabad).
[edit] See also
- [Indian Railways]]
- Fastest trains in India
- Rajdhani Express
