Shatabdi Express

Shatabdi Express
शताब्दी एक्सप्रेस

Bhopal Shatabdi Express (second fastest train in India)
Overview
Main Operation(s) India 1988 -
Fleet size 26
Parent company Indian Railways
Route map of Shatabdi trains

Shatabdi Express trains are a series of fast (called superfast in India) passenger trains operated by Indian Railways to connect Metro cities with other cities important for tourism, pilgrimage or business. Shatabdi Express are day-trains and they return to the station of origin the same day.

The Shatabdis along with The Rajdhani and the Duronto are among the fastest trains in India and the Indian Railways consider Rajdhani and Shatabdi as prestigious. The Shatabdi Expresses get second highest priority, after Rajdhani Expresses which gets highest priority. The Shatabdi Express trains run over short to medium distances while the Rajdhani Expresses and the Duronto Expresses are long-distance trains. Rajdhani Expresses connect the nation's capital New Delhi to capitals of states and other major cities while Duronto Expresses connect major cities to other major cities. All three series of trains have a maximum speed of about 130 km/h (81 mph). The 12001 Bhopal Shatabdi express, however, runs at a peak speed of 155 km/h (96 mph), which makes it the second fastest train in India after Gatimaan Express.

History

The name "Shatabdi" means centenary in Sanskrit. The first Shatabdi Express train was introduced in 1988 to commemorate the birth centenary of Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Madhavrao Scindia was the Indian Railway Minister [2] at that point of time and the Shatabdi Express was his brainchild. The first Shatabdi Express was flagged off between New Delhi and Jhansi, which was later extended to Bhopal being extended to Habibganj.[3] It was planned to run this train between Gwalior(GWL) and New Delhi(NDLS), but Indian Railway wanted a good response for this train so they made it run between Jhansi and New Delhi.The railway tracks between Jhansi and Bhopal were tested for safety before extending the Shatabdi's run in 1989 to Bhopal via Jhansi. Now known as the Bhopal Shatabdi Express, it departs from New Delhi at 0600 and reaches Bhopal at 1350,[1] leaving on its return trip at 1515 and arriving at New Delhi at 2315.[2]

Vehicle and rolling stock

The Bhopal Shatabdi is the second fastest train in India and it runs at an average speed of around 85 km/h (53 mph) to 110 km/h (68 mph)(Please see : Fastest trains in India). Between the origin and the destination though it runs a maximum speed of 155 km/h (96 mph) on some stretches between Agra and New Delhi stations. These trains are now using latest LHB Coaches to provide extra comfort in the train.

Service

Shatabdi Express trains offer fast connectivity with only a few intermediate stops. They are fully air-conditioned and of a much higher standard than most Indian trains. Shatabdi travelers are provided with bottled water, juice, coffee or tea, and meals relevant to time of day of the journey.

Shatabdi trains are also further distinguished from other trains, in terms of convenience in boarding and disembarking. Most stations give them priority berthing at the better platforms, such as ones located close to the station building or waiting halls (generally platform number 1 at most of the stations).

Berths and seats in Shatabdi Express, Duronto Express and Rajdhani Express trains have to be reserved in advance before boarding the train. There is no unreserved accommodation in these trains, unlike most of the other trains in India. A few Shatabdis have a current booking system where tickets can be booked within a couple of hours before departure.

As Shatabdi Express are day-trains and return to the station of origin the same day, coaches (called AC Chair Car or CC) on the train have only seats and not berths. All the Shatabdi Express trains have, however, one or two coaches of first class airconditioned seating. These coaches have wider leg room and offer better food compared to the normal Air conditioned seating (CC).

New on board entertainment systems have also been installed on some of these trains where the passengers can view movies and television serials directly via satellite. One of the first services to have this system is the Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express.

List of Shatabdi trains

Indian Railways operates 26 pairs of Shatabdi Express as of May 2017. These trains are listed here.

List of Trains[3]
Pair Train No. Sector Stops Distance
112001Habibganj - New DelhiBhopal, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Gwalior, Morena, Dholpur, Agra, Mathura705 km
12002New Delhi–Habibganj
212003Lucknow - New DelhiKanpur, Etawah, Tundla, Aligarh, Ghaziabad513 km
12004New Delhi - Lucknow
312005New Delhi - KalkaKurukshetra, Ambala, Chandigarh 303 km
12006Kalka- New Delhi
412007Chennai Central - MysoreKatpadi, Bangalore500 km
12008Mysore - Chennai Shatabdi Express
512009Mumbai Central - AhmedabadBorivali, Vapi, Surat, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Nadiad 491 km
12010Ahmedabad - Mumbai Central
612011New Delhi - Kalka Panipat, Kurukshetra, Ambala, Chandigarh 303 km
12012Kalka - New Delhi
712013New Delhi - AmritsarAmbala Cantt, Sirhind, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Beas 449 km
12014Amritsar - New Delhi
812015New Delhi - AjmerDelhi Cantt, Gurgaon, Rewari, Alwar, Jaipur 444 km
12016Ajmer - New Delhi
912017New Delhi - DehradunGhaziabad, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur, Roorkee, Haridwar 315 km
12018Dehradun - New Delhi
1012019Howrah - RanchiDurgapur, Raniganj, Asansol, Dhanbad, Chandrapura, Bokaro Steel City, Muri 421 km
12020Ranchi - Howrah
1112025Pune - SecunderabadDaund, Solapur, Gulbarga, Wadi, Tandur, Vikarabad, Begumpet 597 km
12026Secunderabad - Pune
1212027Chennai - BangaloreKatpadi, Bangalore Cantt. 362 km
12028Bangalore - Chennai
1312029New Delhi - AmritsarAmbala, Rajpura, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Beas 448 km
12030Amritsar - New Delhi
1412031New Delhi - AmritsarAmbala, Rajpura, Ludhiana, Phagwara, Jalandhar, Beas 448 km
12032Amritsar - New Delhi
1512033Kanpur - New Delhi Etawah, Aligarh, Ghaziabad 440 km
12034New Delhi - Kanpur
1612035Jaipur - Agra Fort Bharatpur Junction 241 km
12036Agra fort - Jaipur
1712037 New Delhi - Ludhiana Rohtak, Tohana, Sangrur 329 km
12038Ludhiana - New Delhi
1812039Kathgodam - New Delhi Haldwani, Lalkuan, Rudrapur, Rampur, Moradabad, Ghaziabad 270 km
12040New Delhi- Kathgodam
1912041 Howrah - New Jalpaiguri Bolpur Shantiniketan, New Farakka Junction, Malda Town, Kishanganj 566 km
12042New Jalpaiguri- Howrah
2012043New Delhi - Moga Rohtak, Jind, Tohana, Sangrur, Jagraon, Ludhiana 398 km
12044Moga - New Delhi
2112045 New Delhi - Chandigarh Ambala Cantt, Karnal 244 km
12046Chandigarh - New Delhi
2212047 New Delhi - Firozpur Rohtak, Jind, Jakhal, Mansa, Bathinda 300 km
12048Firozpur - New Delhi
2312085 Guwahati - Dibrugarh Lumding, Dimapur, Mariani 506 km
12086Dibrugarh - Guwahati
2412087 Naharlagun - Guwahati Rangiya, Rangapara 332 km
12088Guwahati - Naharlagun
2512243 Chennai - Coimbatore Salem, Erode, Tiruppur 496 km
12244Coimbatore - Chennai
2612277 Howrah - Puri Kharagpur, Balasore, Bhadrak, Jajpur Keonjhar Road, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar 500 km
12278Puri - Howrah

A variant of the Shatabdi Express, Swarna Shatabdi Express, is considered more luxurious by Indian Railway. Indian Railways later introduced a lower-priced version Jan Shatabdi Expresses, which are nearly all without air-conditioning and much more affordable.

The former railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav had also introduced Garib Rath (chariot of the poor) in 2005. These are fast trains (like the Rajdhani and Shatabdi), are fully Air-Conditioned and with lower fares. These trains are quite successful and compete with low cost airlines on some long-distance routes.

See also

References

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